


Moments From The Fury Road

by YoureNotMySupervisor



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies), Max Max Fury Road
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character Study, Driving, During Canon, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Fear, Feral to human, Fights, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inner Dialogue, Minor Character Death, Nightmares, Self-Discovery, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Spoilers, Strong Female Characters, Swearing, The movie retold, badassery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:00:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 24,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22395184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoureNotMySupervisor/pseuds/YoureNotMySupervisor
Summary: The Road War retold from Max and Furiosa's unique perspectives.Some things are better left unsaid, but other things are definitely worth saying.
Relationships: Capable/Nux (Mad Max), Furiosa/Max Rockatansky
Comments: 20
Kudos: 40





	1. In The Wastes

There was no conscious thought when he had driven for miles upon miles across the dunes. There was no conscious thought when he felt the pangs of hunger and stopped to find some form of nourishment. There was no conscious thought when he killed any small creature he could find to sustain himself. There was no conscious thought when he built a fire as he felt the chills of the Wasteland air take hold of him. There was no conscious thought until he stopped his Interceptor on a tall ridge facing the east, and took in the sight of the late afternoon sun and the emptiness of the dunes around him.

It was then that his brain changed his mere sentience into sapience and he took a moment to reflect on the past, to remember why he became an animal, to remember the words he had told himself time and time again so he would never make the same mistakes. It was a reminder that he couldn’t be anything other than an animal despite having a name and a past. It was a reminder and an admonishment that he had no business being anything other than a feral animal.

_My name is Max…_

The memories took a hold of him, plaguing his mind, giving him living nightmares.

_My world is fire and blood…_

Moments from the end of the world played in his head. They were the sounds of death, destruction, and fear. He had watched humanity collapse on itself and he was utterly helpless in quelling the chaos.

_Once, I was a cop - a road warrior searching for a righteous cause..._

He had to remind himself of what he was at one time, so he could remind himself of what he was now.

_As the world fell, each of us in our own way was broken…_

He couldn’t bring himself to remember the others who had broken in their own twisted ways. He could only remind himself of how broken he was.

_It was hard to know who was more crazy… me…or everyone else…_

The whispers of the dead reached his ears - louder and louder until they became a mind breaking jumble of voices, screams, and whimpers.

_Here they come again, worming their way into the black matter of my brain…_

The disturbing noises wouldn’t stop until he crushed the lizard’s head under his foot - silencing them. For the moment.

_I tell myself they cannot touch me. They are long dead…_

In the silence, he heard the rumbles - the sounds of a threat carried by the winds heading right for him. His moment of humanity was over. It was time to run.

There was still a chance of escaping if he just pushed the Interceptor a bit more. He had a head start. He could outrun them - his feral instincts propelling him forward across the sands.

It was all over in a second. He couldn’t even process what had happened until he found himself crawling out of the broken shell of his vehicle - a wounded animal still clinging to life and needing to flee immediately, yet also a man confronting what could have been his death.

_I am the one who runs from both the living and the dead. Hunted by scavengers. Haunted by those who I could not protect…_

Even at this moment, the guilt and the shame and his humanity scream at him to repent for what he was unable to do in the past. He deserved this torture. He deserved this agony.

_So I exist in this Wasteland…_

_A man reduced to a single instinct…_

But he was still an animal.

_Survive._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY. OH MY GOD. I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS.  
> I know I'm a lil ol' nobody, but Fury Road is one of my favorite movies of all time. As I watched it for the 30th time, I thought about the moments where you know that Max and Furiosa have a lot on their minds. But like, it's not said. It's just perfectly shown through their facial expressions. I just think it's really cool to go into character studies based on inner dialogues. Both of them are fascinating characters and seriously, this was so fun. This took me around...20 hours to write. But I did it over the span of like 4 days. (I WAS REALLY EXCITED).  
> I haven't written a complete story in YEARS. Like 10 years. So this was just..like..amazing.  
> Not just that, it has been at least 10 years since I've written anything that I actually wanted to read over and over again (if I do say so myself, I'm sorry).  
> So, I finished almost all of this this before I started reading "The Length and Breadth of Fury Road." First, lemme say that I'm so impressed with it (as are thousands of others - rightly so, it's a great story. Look it up if you haven't.) But as I was reading, I realized that my version of Max is pretty in character. Sometimes I wondered if maybe in my fic, he was saying too much, but nah I think it's just the right amount.  
> I haven't seen many fics (if any) addressing the little moments like MAX AND FURI ON THE GIGAHORSE AT THE END LEANING AGAINST EACH OTHER? HIS ARM AROUND HER? HER HEAD ON HIS SHOULDER? AHH. So...yes I needed to address all of this.  
> Let me know what you think. Hopefully there are still people around here interested in these two badass people. It's completely done, by the way. I just don't want to release it all at once.  
> Also, this wasn't beta read. This was just me vomiting onto a page. So yeh...forgive me?  
> The chapters are fairly short though, so that's cool!  
> And yeah, I just needed to get all this onto a paper...document...whatever.  
> ANYWAY, please enjoy :) (or at least y'know...try I guess, unless it's crap).


	2. Chained Up

He didn’t know for how long he had been in this dark and damp place. It smelled of sickness, metal, and exhaust. He remembered being chained and dragged through the Wastes by scavengers painted in white and others wearing disturbing masks. He fought as hard as he could to keep them away from him, but they were many and he was just one man. His hair had been cut, his back had been tattooed with many unknown words. He was strung up like a piece of meat, five of his captors holding him in place. He could do nothing but wait for a chance to retaliate, even though their overwhelming numbers made escape virtually impossible.

But then something happened.

In a split second, instinct suddenly took over - an almost sixth sense telling him that something horrible was about to happen. He had no idea why but he knew that there was no choice but to run.

He went feral once more, knocking anyone and anything out of his path. There was no way of knowing where he was, he just propelled himself forward through the cavernous environment thinking only of getting out, very much aware of the horde of pursuers behind him. There was again no conscious thought when his eyes fell onto a chain dangling against the wall, and he immediately grabbed onto it, scampering towards what looked to be an escape. As he pulled himself onto the bars of a ceiling grate and looked up into the light, he saw…

 _Glory…?_

_“Max? Is that you?”_

_Why…? Why are you…here…?_

_“Where were you?”_

He heard her whispers as he felt a weight on his leg pulling him into the water below, the sudden chilliness forcing his eyes open. He saw her face, taunting him, interrogating him, her words dripping with accusation.

_“Help us, Max.”_

He was violently pulled from the water and regained his senses before bolting further into the caverns.

_“HELP US. STOP RUNNING.”_

It was Glory again, walking menacingly towards him - her face suddenly became skeletal.

_Please…go away…._

He swatted the air as he ran, trying to chase her ghost away.

_“YOU LET US DIE?_

_YOU LET US DIE._

_YOU LET US DIE!”_

_I’m …sorry!!!! Please….stop… I…I failed you._

_“YOU PROMISED TO HELP US.”_

_I deserve this. I’m so sorry. I should have done something…..anything…_

_I let you die!!_

Faces from his past. Reminders of his failures. Madness manifesting as he kept running.

He sprinted as fast as he could approaching another set of doors. Pushing them open, he was met with a heart stopping feeling of fear as he looked down a several hundred foot drop. The fear subsided as he examined his surroundings. He saw green.

_What the hell…?_

The sounds of his captors barreling down the hallway after him reached his ears. He was running out of time. He was again left with no choice, but luck seemed to favor him as a crane hook descended into his line of sight.

There were no thoughts as he took a few steps back to prepare, just instinct taking over once again. He sprinted towards the light once more and launched himself at the hook, risking everything.

_….Fuck._

He somehow caught himself on the hook, swinging back and forth looking for a way forward. The men in white paint looked like living skeletons clawing at him, attempting to drag him back into Hell. One of them fell from the ledge attempting to grab a leg to pull back with him.

“WITNESS!!” the man yelled as he plummeted towards the ground.

The hook swung back towards the ledge and the skeletons took hold of his legs. He kicked as hard as he could in a futile attempt at freedom - the crane hook pulled with him. He grasped at the air as the skeletons removed his chains from the hook.

_No…..! Let…let me go..!!!_

There were only a few seconds more for him to see the outside world before a suffocating piece of rubber was stretched over his face.

_Can’t…. breathe!_

It was over. There was nothing he could do as the skeletons pulled him back into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I actually only meant to do a few select scenes, but I ended up writing about the entire movie.  
> I hope that's okay? ^_^'  
> And let me know if there's something you don't like or something you think I could improve upon!  
> This is definitely a living and breathing story, so if it can be improved, I would love to hear your ideas.


	3. The Citadel

She looked around as she walked towards the trailer for what would be the War Rig, observing the area. War Boys mounted on vehicles, the tanker of the Rig being lowered by the massive elevator, the Wretched all around watching her with interest.

Her heart was pounding as she set up inside of the cab, her breaths audible. There was nothing to do but wait.

_I have to do this. For them._

She listened to the War Boys’ chants.

“WE ARE. WAR BOYS.”

“WAR BOYS!”

“KAMAKRAZEE WAR BOYS!”

“WAR BOYS!”

“FUKUSHIMA KAMAKRAZEE WAR BOYS!”

She pitied them.

“HOOKED ON!!” Ace yelled. “Today, we’re headin’ to Gastown!”

“GASTOWN!” the War Boys replied.

She couldn’t help but feel a bit more confident as she started her trusty Rig.

_I’m counting on you._

She heard the sheer power of the machine and instantly felt a surge of power in herself.

_We have no choice._

“Today, we’re haulin’ Aqua Cola!”

“AQUA COLA!”

“Today, we’re haulin’ produce!”

“PRODUCE!”

“And today, we’re haulin’ mother’s milk!”

“MOTHER’S MILK!”

She waited, her palms covered in sweat. She looked forward with contempt at the ceremony of it all. There was no need for this. There was never any need for this. It was just another way he could show everyone just how in control he was. She needed to go. As the crowd of sick and deformed Wretched began to chant his name, she swallowed, silently cursing the man who ruled over this place with the selfishness that had destroyed humanity - that had killed the world.

_I am never coming back._

“REV IT UP, FOR THE IMMORTAN JOE!!” One of his Imperators had yelled to the crowd from the carved skull, eyes wild. She recognized him, more powerful but just as brainwashed as the rest.

_I am one of them though, aren’t I?_

“ONCE AGAIN, WE SEND OFF MY WAR RIG TO BRING GUZZOLINE FROM GASTOWN, AND BULLETS FROM THE BULLET FARM.”

His voice boomed with terrifying authority - his horse teeth air filter mask a menacing sight. This was how he ruled - through absolute fear.

“ONCE AGAIN, I SALUTE MY IMPERATOR. FURIOSA.”

_I must atone for what I’ve done._

“AND I SALUTE MY HALF-LIFE WAR BOYS WHO WILL RIDE WITH ME, ETERNAL, ON THE HIGHWAYS OF VALHALLA!”

_I am not one of you._

The War Boys began their usual chant.

“V8! V8! V8!”

They truly had nothing else to live for.

“I AM YOUR REDEEMER! IT IS BY MY HAND THAT YOU WILL RISE FROM THE ASHES OF THIS WORLD!!”

The Wretched began a louder chant of his name. It was easy to make them beg for him and his false kindness. This was the way of the world now.

As the water poured down from the aquifier, and the Wretched clambered toward it in droves, she looked on feeling melancholic. She knew how hard it was. She could see their desperation, and she knew that humans were not above anything in the face of desperation. They would treat him like a god, die in the blazing sun waiting for his pity, and as she watched the water reduce to nothing but a trickle, she knew that they would turn against each other as well.

“DO NOT, MY FRIENDS, BECOME ADDICTED TO WATER. IT WILL TAKE HOLD OF YOU, AND YOU WILL RESENT ITS ABSENCE.”

She put the Rig in gear and stepped on the accelerator, leaving the squabbling Wretched and the sick War Boys behind, along with her memories of this place - the smell of death as half-lives laid in the darkness dying, the taste of blood as she killed another opponent during her many trials to become Imperator, the heat of his body as he crushed himself on top of her.

_We are never coming back._

She watched the lifeless desert pass by her, eyes watering as fear started to creep into the cracks of her hard exterior.


	4. The Infirmary

He tried counting the days that he had been in captivity. It was impossible to know. He was given meager helpings of barely edible gruel, and still scarfed it down like the caged and starving animal he currently was. He looked to the only thing that any trapped being would take interest in - the light of an exit to the outside. It was just a small beam of light above his cage, a tiny peek into the outside world, but he regarded it with reverence at every waking moment.

It was barely a day after he had been burned that they had used him for his given purpose. He had gathered from where he was that he was to be a human blood bag, his full-life status and type O blood making him a rather valuable asset. They needed to keep him healthy enough for his blood to keep pumping through his body, but they had kept him caged for days on end. He was nothing but an object, a feral blood supply that could not be granted the status of a person. Any time that his blood had been siphoned, he had attempted to find a way out of his binds. So far, he hadn’t been successful.

He scarcely listened to what was going on around him, unless it could aid in his eventual escape. But he had learned their culture and of their strange obsession with a V8 engine. Although no one had told him, he had understood their war paint after seeing many of them with tumors and some of them only just clinging to life. That was many many days ago - at least he thought so. They had managed to brand him, scorched his skin with a symbol he wished he could rip off of his neck. But it was too painful to do anything. He could only wait for the pain to subside and the memory of the scar to blend together with the other moments that had marked his skin. He spaced out most of the time, and was doing so when he heard the disgusting excuse for a doctor speak.

“I got a War Boy running on empty. Hook up that full life.”

He immediately looked around thinking that maybe this time, there would be some chance to get out of the hanging cage, but instead was greeted with a shock that made his muscles seize. He passed out, hanging upside down from the ceiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this was an extremely short one!!   
> Don't worry, they'll get longer as we get further in :)   
> Hope you all are having a wonderful week.   
> Please let me know what you think!


	5. The Road To Gastown

She took one last look at the place that caused her such trauma and sadness. Stomping out the flames of fear that were starting to take hold, she felt nothing but determination to get as far away as possible from that godforsaken place.

_It’s now or never, Furi._

With that thought, she shifted the gears of the Rig, veering eastward. A part of her hoped she would lose at least one of the support vehicles with her sudden decision, without giving up the lives of the War Boys. They were her crew after all, but it was time to make sacrifices. 

_Please, let this be the right decision. For all of us._

Ace was at her window a moment later. “Boss, we’re not going to Gastown?”

She knew her expression would give nothing away, but she needed to think of an answer that would minimize suspicion for now. She felt guilty, knowing that Ace was as loyal and as trusting as always, completely oblivious to her plan. 

“Bullet Farm?” Ace prodded again.

_Shit. Think. Think. Easiest answer is the most obvious one._

“We’re heading east,” she replied simply.

“I’ll pass it down the line,” Ace said, sounding skeptical. She had bought herself some more time, but she knew it would only take her so far. She looked back in the mirror to see Ace signaling to the rest of the War Boys to protect the Rig. Her anxiety grew thinking about how much time she actually had before Ace figured out something was amiss.

_Keep going. We’ll deal with the War Boys later. Just keep your foot on the pedal._

She also knew that the direction she was going almost guaranteed that they would run into trouble with the Buzzards.

_You have to keep pushing. It is too late to turn back. You’ve chosen, now we deal with things as they come._

She couldn’t let that tiny thought in the back of her mind that they would somehow make it to the end of the journey cloud her thoughts. She squashed it deep into the recesses of her head, knowing full well that it would be nothing like her expectations. She was committing treason, and Joe would never let her get away with it. But hope had bloomed in her recently, and it was pushing her to take on this task. Hope was dangerous, but she needed it to fuel her determination. For years, there was no hope for her. It was stomped into the dust time and time again. She was honestly surprised that she had any left, but the hopeless don’t get anywhere. She, however, had somewhere to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a shorty, I know.   
> But don't worry, we are getting there! :D


	6. Before The Fury Road

He had woken up only a while before, but was barely conscious now and was gradually becoming aware that he was still upside down. His head felt an immense amount of pressure and his legs had become numb. There was something in his field of vision and he realized that they had muzzled his face.

_….Fuck._

He managed to turn his head enough to see that he was being drained of his blood and was attached to one of the painted men. Simply turning his head made him dizzy. He was trapped, again. But this time in probably the most uncomfortable position he’d ever been in. They were bleeding him dry, and he could do nothing. Again. At least his ghosts were quiet.

_Urrgh._

It was then that he heard drums in the distance. There was suddenly a flurry of activity behind him. He heard his Parasite weakly ask someone about the commotion.

“Hey, what’s happening? Slit! What’s going on? Slit!”

Another painted man, one that Max assumed wasn’t the one called Slit answered. “Treason! Betrayal! An Imperator gone rogue!”

“An Imperator? Who?” the Parasite asked.

“Furiosa!! She took a lot of stuff from Immortan Joe!!”

“What stuff?!”

“Breeders! His prized Breeders! He wants them back, not a hand laid on ‘em!”

Max heard grunts and yells and just the general cacophony of these painted people, but he could also sense the adrenaline in the air as they got ready to go after this…Furiosa.

He saw, from the corner of his eye, his Parasite stand up and grab something from another man.

“That’s my wheel!”

“I’m driving!” came the reply.

“You’re my lancer!!”

“I just promoted myself!”

“Not today! Today is my day!!” The Parasite seemed to be struggling for control.

“Look at you! If you can’t stand up, you can’t do war!”

Max heard the disgusting bag of skin that was the doctor reply, “He’s right son.”

“I’m not staying here, dying soft!”

“Ah, you’re already a corpse,” the bag of skin said.

“I just need a top-up!!”

_…Shit._

“There’s no time!!”

“We take my blood bag! We take my blood bag and strap him to the lancer’s perch!”

Max’s first reaction was anger, he began to seethe.

_…If you…fucking put your hands on me…_

“It’s got a muzzle! It’s a raging feral!” said the self-promoted lancer.

“That’s right, high-octane crazy blood filling me up!”

But he then realized that it may be his only chance at getting out of this place. Max waited, he heard the argument continue. It sounded like self-promoted Lancer got hit by the Parasite.

“If I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die historic on the Fury Road,” said the Parasite.

Max wasn’t actively listening anymore. If he could just find a way to get out of these chains…

“Organic, hitch up his blood bag,” the self-promoted Lancer commanded.

_…Escape._

He wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to do it, but he figured it wouldn’t be all that difficult.


	7. The Lancer's Perch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I am so incredibly sorry to leave anyone hanging. Although I don't think I am.  
> So much has happened in my life, so I haven't been able to update as much as I wanted to.  
> As a reward, please take the next 6 chapters on me!!  
> Thank you so much for the kudos <3 It means everything to me!

Max had failed to escape his binds. They expected him to retaliate. It ended up with several men forcing him onto the front of the Parasite’s car, his arms bound behind him, his blood still being drained. The Parasite didn’t hold back. He charged with the rest of these painted people. Suddenly, Max looked over and saw his painstakingly built attachment to his past - his Interceptor, fixed, decked out with skulls, and being driven by some asshole.

_…How did I…end up here?_

“How much more can they take from me?!” he yelled. What else was he supposed to do other than yell? What the fuck sort of situation was this? “Got my blood, now it’s my car!!” He wasn’t sure who he was asking, but he needed someone in the universe to know about this. He was too tired to be violent, too weak to get out of his binds. The most he could do was voice his outrage to no one in particular.

He heard the thrashing of an electric guitar next to him.

_….Are you fucking serious…._

He was at the mercy of his captors. All he could do was try his hardest not to die. He was pretty good at that, if nothing else.

The car accelerated, sidling up to the vehicles at the very front of the line. He was just slightly thankful for it - less dust would be getting into his face. Suddenly he heard the Parasite screaming.

“IMMORTAN!!! IMMORTAN JOE!!!”

Max saw the man called Joe look over in his direction and he took note of his appearance. Not the strangest thing he'd ever seen, but definitely one of the more odd sights of his life. 

_…What the fuck._

Hatred for this situation was an understatement. He was angry. But again, what could he do besides grumble? He was getting more and more irritated at the Parasite and this entire group of people as he heard him and the Lancer yelling again.

“He looked at me!!! He looked right at me!!” the Parasite cried out.

“He looked at your blood bag!” the Lancer yelled back.

“He turned his head and looked me straight in the eye!!”

“He was scanning the horizon!!”

_Fuck everything._

“No…I am awaited! I am awaited in Valhalla!!!”

Max was acutely aware of the screaming and the sudden sound of a valve being turned and gas being let out.

_No, no, do not do it, you idiot…_

_No, no, no, no, nooooooooo!!_

The car accelerated with ridiculous speed, the wind hitting his face painfully.

“CONFUCAMUS!!!!”

There was nothing else for Max to do but watch things play out and grimace as the wind burned his face.


	8. Hostile Territory

_Okay. Breathe. We’re doing okay, so far so good._

There was a pretty good chunk of time that allowed the Rig to get further away from the Citadel. She had already expected Joe to figure out what was happening by now. It was just a matter of waiting. She was proven right with a bang on the sunroof.

“Boss!” It was Ace.

_Shit._

“We got vehicles from the Citadel! They’re firing flares,” he continued.

The panic came back as she saw the colorful flares exploding in the sky. She was scared. She had to at least try to go forward with this plan, but she made sure to never underestimate Joe. Death was better than being caught by the madman, and he was relentless. She knew she was about to see just how far Joe would go to keep everyone under his thumb. She had been holding back tears for the majority of the ride so far. She had managed to keep them from spilling over, hiding her fear behind her Imperator persona.

“They want reinforcements from Gastown and the Bullet Farm. What is this? Backup? Decoy?” Ace questioned.

She felt bad for Ace. Now that Joe was coming after her, she knew the crew would be done for. He was just following orders, trusting her as his superior. Ace had never questioned her direction, and now she had to take advantage of that fact.

_It’s them or us._

“It’s a detour,” she said with finality.

It was just a matter of time as to when the Buzzards would show up. She saw the shimmer of one of their spiked vehicles.

“Eyes right!” she yelled to Ace.

More vehicles showed up, but she knew she couldn’t hesitate. They would all die if she did.

_Keep going. Do not stop. Keep this Rig moving forward._

She heard the War Boys prepping to defend the Rig. If nothing else, she had faith that they could do it.

Ace came to her window, “Should we turn ‘round and run ‘em into our backup?”

_We are not turning back._

“No…” she hesitated for a moment, thinking it over.

_Do not stop._

“We’re good! We fang it!!” she pulled the horn of the Rig, an animal bellow signaling that they were ready for a fight - and she was.

The Rig continued forward. They needed to wait for the Buzzards to come to them.

_Okay…it’s time to fight._

She thought to herself for a moment before suddenly seeing a Buzzard booby trap activated by the vehicle in front of her. A chain had caught the car, sending it flipping, probably killing the War Boys on it.

_TURN THE WHEEL!_

She immediately went right, swerving the Rig but leaving it unharmed. She was shaking, the tears building up, her breathing rapid. The panic was shooting through her.

_Fuck. Oh, Mothers…Breathe. You need to keep this up. You know you can do this. Just drive._

A buzzing noise caught her attention making her look to the passenger side mirror. An extremely menacing spiked vehicle with buzz saws was barreling towards her. It had already been lanced a few times, but the armor of the car prevented it from going down without some serious force. Thankfully, a War Boy managed to launch a harpoon at the Buzzard car. Her right side was clear, for now.

She put her foot farther onto the accelerator, suddenly seeing another Buzzard vehicle on her left. Ace came down to her window, they needed to take it out.

“READY??” Ace hollered.

_Hell yes._

Her Imperator persona took over. She wasn’t scared, she was fierce and ready to fight. She jammed the throttle, grabbed her mini crossbow and opened the door. She and Ace immediately took shots at the Buzzards. The front exploded, sending it into another vehicle. The Rig seemed safe for a moment, until she saw that they brought out their big vehicles.

Her body was reacting a bit worse, the stress making her eyes glossy, her jaw clench. As she looked at her driver side mirror, the tears became thicker. The Buzzards and their terrifying vehicles loomed right behind her.

_Please, we have to be okay. We have to. Please._

She silently pleaded to anyone who could hear her.


	9. On The Fury Road

Max had had enough. His eyes were burning, his mouth felt like it was on fire and stuffed with sand, and the wind was unforgiving on his skin. But despite all of his protests (unvoiced or otherwise) the Parasite’s car wouldn’t stop. It raced forward, far in front of that Immortan asshole. They managed to actually catch up with the Rig.

_Well…now what?_

Max wanted it to be over, but it seemed like it was just beginning. He had a lot of time to think while he was strapped to this post. This all seemed like a waste. Max survived from day to day, yet these people had enough time to gather their entire healthy population and chase after some women?

_I’m the crazy one? Just let me go already._

The Parasite positioned his car behind the Rig ready to take out the Buzzards.

_Buzzards…fuck._

“Form up!” Max suddenly heard the Parasite yell. The Lancer grunted in reply.

_Wait, what does that mean?_

He had barely finished his thought when an explosive lance flew an inch away from his face into the Buzzard vehicle.

_WHAT THE FUCK._

“THAT’S MY HEAD!!!” Max yelled.

_They’ve made me into a goddamn blood bag, what does anyone care…_

But he would express his distress all the same. Because fuck these people. He was already preparing himself for the Lancer to do it again - scrunching his shoulders as much as possible despite the discomfort. That was until a Buzzard buggy pulled up on his left. One of the painted psychos was on a taller vehicle in front of him. The Lancer threw a lance into the Buzzards and the Psycho in front of him shot a harpoon at the engine well. The buggy swerved with the Parasite moving his own car, but it was no use.

_Shit, shit, shit, no…_

The buggy slammed into the Parasite’s car but it was enough force for the harpoon to rip the buggy’s roof off. Max saw the Psycho pick up an explosive lance, ready to throw at the exposed Buzzards. The Buzzards were faster. One of them shot several sharp rods at the Psycho piercing his face and arm. He crumpled into his lancer’s post.

_Huh._

Max was a little relieved that there wouldn’t be anything exploding in his vicinity. That is until the guy rose up from his crumpled position.

_Uhhh…._

He had a spray can in his hand?

_What the…_

He took a moment to spray chrome paint onto his mouth and face before facing his fellow psychos and screaming “WITNESS ME!!!”

_Do not do…what I think you’re about to do…_

But there was no going back. The Psycho picked up two explosive lances and stood up straight on his post. He truly lived up to the nickname Max had given him. He looked sincerely psycho. Max looked between him and the buggy hoping that he wouldn’t be crazy enough to do it. He wasn’t about to jump into it, right? He wouldn’t.

He was wrong.

_Shitshitshitshit….!!!!_

It exploded into a ball of angry red and orange, throwing fire, gas, material, and sand into Max’s face. All he could do was turn away as the rest of the psychos screamed about it, the Lancer judging the Psycho’s death.

“MEDIOCRE!” He yelled.

Max looked ahead, hoping that the worst was over with as far as self-preservation went.


	10. Into The Storm

There was still the large Buzzard vehicle to take care of. She pulled the horn once more signaling for help. A car of two War Boys came to assist, but the Buzzards were far heavier than the small car. It plowed through them and Furiosa could only watch as they fell off the vehicles and onto the ground. There was something inside her telling her that maybe this was the end of the chase. Maybe she’d lose. Maybe she’d end up like those War Boys - bailing out in some hopes of surviving the fall. Her guilt increased, these War Boys would not survive.

_Ace…I’m sorry._

As she reflected on this, she looked to her left and saw a man strapped to the lancer’s perch of a pursuit vehicle. It wasn’t the craziest thing that these War Boys had done. They’d done far worse things to a person. The man looked back at her - not acknowledging her, just looking. She didn’t exactly have time to ponder upon what she was seeing, but she spared a moment to give him some sympathy.

_Whatever you did, I’m sure you don’t deserve that. Hopefully your death is fast and painless._

She hoped that she wouldn’t suffer a similar fate, this was all insanity. Just then, Angharad popped up from the floor hatch of the trailer.

_What the…get back in the hold!!_

“We can’t breathe down there!!” Angharad yelled over the menacing buzz of the saws at Furiosa’s window.

“Stay out of sight!” Furiosa yelled back.

_Please, you need to just hide. It’s not safe for you to come out! I don’t want anything to happen to any of you._

“NOW!” Furiosa screamed as the buzz saw hit her window and cut through the metal sending sparks everywhere.

_THERE IS A FUCKING SAW IN MY FACE. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON’T LET IT TOUCH ME._

She couldn’t do anything but scream and hope that one of the Citadel vehicles would help at that moment.

The sparks fell on Angharad forcing her back into the hatch. It was then that the War Boys managed to do some damage to the vehicle. Several hoses came lose, dismantling its structure, and sending the buzz saw and its arm flying. It went right for the man strapped onto the perch.

_NO!_

No matter who he was, she didn’t want that to happen to him. The saw instead cut several of the explosive lances sending them under the Buzzard vehicle. It exploded, throwing several War Boys onto the road with it.

The fight was over. The saw had scared her enough for her to be regretting doing this. She had pulled out her pistol just in case anything else came at her. Tears leaked down her face.

_What am I doing? I…I don’t want to die…_

Unfortunately, the newest problem didn’t come in any human form. It was the Wasteland releasing its fury onto the descendants of those who created it. It had no mercy. It had only anger. Clouds of sand, dust, and fire taller than the towering Citadel tore towards the vehicles. People both inside and outside the vehicles would have a hard time surviving.

_There is no way out but forward. We have to get through this._

There was nothing more to do except pull on her scarf, push down her goggles, and put as much force on the accelerator as she could.


	11. The Fury Of The Storm

After nearly being set on fire and decapitated, there wasn’t much more that Max could think of that could be worse. That is until Max looked in front of him. What he was seeing was not anything that could be controlled. Even if he managed to escape, this storm would chew him up and spit him out without stopping for a second.

_Shitshitshit. Now what?_

The Lancer unfortunately answered his unvoiced question. “FANG IT! FANG IT!” he yelled to the Parasite.

_If I do not get out of here in the next minute, I am going to die._

Max tried his best to stretch his fingers over the restraints binding him to the perch, but it was no use. He had to simply hope that he would survive. He heard the Parasite yelling at the white painted man hanging onto the side of the Rig.

“Crew!! Out of the way!!! Out of the way!!!”

Something had obviously happened between the painted man and the woman Max had seen earlier driving the Rig because the man fell from his spot. The Lancer grabbed a lance while the Parasite shot at the window. The woman noticed and retaliated quickly, slamming the Rig into the Parasite’s car. One of the tires gave out and the vehicle slowed down, to Max’s relief. It was too loud to hear exactly what the Parasite said, but the next thing Max knew is that his restraint was being removed by Lancer. He exhaled as there was a sudden respite to the pain from being contorted into such a position. Max could barely feel his arms and his shoulders were in agony, but the mere thought of being freed eased the pain. The Lancer pushed Max down the front of the vehicle against the windshield and he finally came face to face with the Parasite.

_You little shit._

Max was suddenly pulled by the back of his head onto the back half of the vehicle - the goddamn muzzle and the transfusion needle digging into his skin. Next thing he knew was that he was being choked by the Lancer.

“Hey head! Say bye-bye to the neck! Decapito!!”

_Fuck you._

“We’re goin’ in, Slit!” Parasite suddenly said. This provided the distraction Max needed to flip Lancer almost off the vehicle, the chain of the damn muzzle stopped him from falling though. Lancer tugged on it, and Max got the chance to do a flip of his own, kicking the daylights out of the Lancer. With one last kick, Max managed to get him off of his leg taking Max’s boot with him.

_Get inside. Get inside. Get inside._

Max jumped towards Parasite’s sunroof which closed immediately.

_Oh, no you don’t. You little…_

It was too late, the car hit the storm head first, sending Max flying to the back, holding on only by the chain of the muzzle. Parasite pulled on his end allowing Max to gain a better purchase on the car. He got as close to the back windshield as he could, holding on for dear life - probably looking insane to the Parasite.

But the Parasite didn’t stop his pursuit of the Rig. He turned recklessly towards the Rig forcing Max to hold on tighter. The storm raged on. It was like seeing Hell on earth. Max had never seen anything like it, anything so fearsome. He noticed another pursuit vehicle gaining on the Rig. Even to his shock, the Rig took a risky maneuver and pushed the vehicle into a column of fire, wind, and sand throwing the vehicle violently into the air. There were no words for what Max was seeing and it didn’t get any better when one of the guys previously in or on the car came flying towards him, bouncing off of the top of Parasite’s vehicle, screaming all the way. Even then, the Parasite didn’t stop. It actually seemed to make him more determined to kill them both. Max was focused on keeping his hold when the car suddenly accelerated - a telltale sign of the Parasite using more nitrous.

_Goddammit._

Max looked into the car and suddenly saw the Parasite pulling all of the valves and tubes from the bottom allowing for gas to pool under his feet.

_WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING_

The Parasite was yelling something to himself, something about fucking Valhalla again. He turned around manic, screaming “WITNESS ME, BLOOD BAG!”

_SHITSHITSHITSHIT_

There was no time. These insane assholes telegraphed their messages loud and clear with that one line. Max wasn’t sure exactly what the kid was about to do, but he knew it would end up with both of them being dead. It was further proven by the kid taking out his own chrome spray and covering his face.

_YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING NOW_

Max’s best hope was to somehow get in there. It was the first time he was thankful for the godforsaken chains around him as he started punching the back windshield. He managed to break through and reached towards the Parasite. The Parasite pulled the chain further and swerved the car in front of the Rig. He then grabbed a flare and lit it.

_NO!!!!_

Max looked back and saw the woman driving once more.

_If this explodes…we won’t be the only ones to die…_

Somehow that thought pushed luck on his side because the top of the car flew up allowing Max to dive in and grab the suicidal maniac’s hand. The flare was so close to touching the gasoline filled floor, but he managed to stop him. Unluckily, the Parasite decided that it would be a good time to slam on the breaks.

Whether the woman wanted to kill them or not, it was irrelevant because the Rig plowed into the car breaking it to pieces and sending Max flying forward.

_AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

He bounced violently, tumbling out of the car with so much force - falling into the sand, the world going black.


	12. Rising From The Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you notice the change in tense, it's because I wanted Max's feral moments to be very much in the present. No hesitation or anything, just pure instinct.  
> Hopefully you find my artistic choice okay? :D

He stirs, barely conscious.

_Ugh…_

He moves more, everything aching and the world still dark.

_Mm..gh…._

He moves his head realizing that he’s covered in dirt.

_….Wh…_

He slowly looks around, suddenly remembering what had happened. He launches himself up, feeling horrible, disoriented, weak, and confused. Images of his nightmares flash like disturbing pictures in his mind. He can breathe but something still isn’t right…

_Wh..at….it…hurts…_

He follows the source of his pain up his shoulder and feels the hook deep in his vein.

_Get it out…get it out of me…._

His breaths rapid, he pulls the hook while pinching his skin trying not hurt himself more. The hook releases and suddenly he’s calm and all is quiet. He can think. But he’s an animal once more. He sees the muzzle and remembers the chain, pulling it to its source. It was of course attached to the the former Parasite. Yanking him from the wreck of the car, he finds the hand to which the chain was attached. First attempting to pull apart the metal bindings, it doesn’t budge. The goal is to get the leash off and he doesn’t care how he's going to do it. It just needs to be off. Shaking the source of his continuing imprisonment - the Parasite’s hand - violently and senselessly, it does nothing except make him more angry. He finds a sawed off shotgun laying in the dirt and quickly checks to see if it’s loaded. It has two bullets, ready for firing. He doesn’t care about what he’s about to do, he’s going to get rid of this dead weight and get out of here. Yanking the chain up and holding the former Parasite’s arm in the air, he takes aim at his wrist. He pulls the trigger without hesitation and hears a hissing noise. The gun powder had fizzled out.

_What._

The gun did nothing. He clicks the trigger again, still nothing.

_....Goddammit._

His last ditch effort is to completely retreat into survival mode. He picks up the obstacle to his freedom and attempts to chew on its flesh. Suddenly hearing a noise, he stops and searches for its origin. It’s then that he spots the Rig in the distance. Instinct tells him to move forward - maybe he can get out of here. Grabbing a boot from the Parasite and the dud shotgun, he carries the Parasite and the door hooked to the chain with him. Instinct also tells him to pretend he’s something that he isn’t: armed. There’s a faint noise of a ghost possibly telling him to stop - he ignores it, shaking it away. Carrying the dead weight, and the dud gun, he walks out into the open from behind the Rig, unsure of what he’ll find. He doesn’t expect to find five young ladies bathing in the sun. But he doesn’t care.

_Escape._

He looks at them briefly, as one of them cuts off a sinister looking belt from another’s hips.

_What is this?_

The beginnings of curiosity are squashed by his animal like caution. Seeing the woman carrying a tool, he directs her to drop it.

_Strong. Weapon. Aggressive. One arm. Still threat._

The next thing he sees is the pure and clean water flowing from a hose onto he ground. He licks his lips.

_Thirsty._

“Water,” he grunts to the woman. She directs one of the girls to give him the hose. A blonde, very pregnant girl approaches him. She holds the hose out to him, defiance written all over her face.

_Young. Weak. Pregnant. No threat._

He snatches the hose from her like a feral dog accepting food from a human - aggressively and cautiously. He tells the girl to turn around as he drinks his fill, keeping his eyes on the strangers. Next priority - safety. He holds out the leash and growls.

He chooses another girl to cut the leash, not trusting the woman.

_Young. Skinny. Weak. No threat._

As she approaches, she says something to the other woman. It’s of no use to him. He needs to be unchained. He growls at her to cut. He hears her struggling with the cutters and looks over. Slight incredulity takes over and he’s almost imperceptibly amused.

_Uh…maybe…_

Suddenly, the woman’s grabbing a hold of his torso, tackling him to the ground. He’s being held down and beaten and she picks up the dud gun.

_Gun!_

_…Oh._

He hears the trigger click and sees her confused expression. She doesn’t stop her assault on him though. He defends himself as best as he can, hindered and in pain due to pulling on the leash. He thrashes to make the pain stop, scaring the girls pulling it. She continues attacking, completely on the offense. He’s forced to stop her from hurting him any further. The Parasite wakes up and attempts to restrain her. He doesn’t care. He grabs the bolt cutters, needing to be free. The girls are close to him. He snarls at them. The woman reveals a pistol tucked onto the Rig. He runs for it and grabs it before she can. He turns to attack when a flash of Glory’s demise stops him.

_Why now?_

She manages to point it at his head.

_THREAT. DEFEND._

He ejects the magazine as she continues pressing the gun to his face.

_THREAT LESSENED._

They both know there’s still one bullet in the chamber, but he’s stronger and manages to force her hand away from his face as the weapon fires. He pins her against the Rig. But his chains are his downfall. He falls backward and faces the wrath of her knees to his head. She wraps his leash around his neck and he chokes, his windpipe hurts.

_SURVIVE._

He hurts her again, rolling on the ground before seeing she has access to a weapon - the water hose. He struggles with her, his animal movements trying to beat her to it while preventing her from grabbing it herself. She hits him a few more times. He rolls with her again.

_RESTRAIN._

It may be in his instincts to defend himself to the death, but his brain is able to draw a line at killing a defenseless creature. He’s sitting on her back, restraining her arm, and suddenly the Parasite presents him with the ejected magazine. He loads It, chambers it expertly - the slide pulled back using the heel of his shoe. He’s been doing it so long that it’s second nature.

_INTIMIDATE._

He fires three shots near her head effectively stopping her aggression. She knows she’s lost.

The Parasite starts blabbering about that Immortan asshole. He still doesn’t care. He’s getting out of here.

“Bolt cutters. Chain,” he grunts. The Parasite clamors over to the bolt cutters.

_Too much energy. Unpredictable._

“Hey…hey hey!!!” he grunts again to the Parasite. The Parasite relaxes and continues talking.

He’s not listening anymore. He’s about to be unchained. He points the gun at the Parasite seeing his jacket.

_Protection. Attachment. Mine._

“That’s my jacket!!!” he growls, snatching it off the Parasite’s shoulders. The Parasite continues talking to him and follows him.

_Fuck off…._

He suddenly remembers the last few hours of torture at the hands of this kid and punches him in the stomach. When he turns around, the blonde pregnant girl is walking towards the Rig.

_Stop her. Cannot run with obstacle. Intimidate._

He shoots three rounds, this time with an instinct that isn’t from living as a feral. One barely grazes her leg, but it stops her.

_Run._

He gets into the Rig and starts off. He gives the women one last look before letting his defenses down at the prospect of escape. He drives for less than a minute before the Rig stops in its tracks. He has no logical thoughts - just an angry protest as to why he can’t go forward. He stamps his feet and hits the dashboard in some futile and belligerent attempt to get it started again.

_MOVE. MOVE. …..Goddammit._

He looks to the mirror at his right and sees the women running towards him. He exhales, irritated, and exasperated, but concedes that he will have to talk to this woman who just tried to kill him.


	13. In The Rig

She stops Capable from engaging any further near him. She senses what he is - an animal who will bite if threatened, who will win in a contest of life or death, but will not attack unless provoked first. He could have killed her, but he held back. Despite their aggressive fight, she recognized that they were evenly matched - both able to slip into survival mode easily. A strange and miniscule part of her is glad he survived after seeing his earlier predicament and subsequent crash partially caused by her. But she was more than ready to kill him. She had no intention of holding back and was perplexed as to why he did. No one holds back in the Wasteland. And maybe that’s why she isn’t afraid of him. She’s confident in talking to him, even though it was obvious that he hadn’t spoken to anyone in a long time.

“How does it feel?” she asks Angharad.

“It hurts,” Angharad replies with irritation.

“Out here, everything hurts.”

_She needs to understand. They all need to understand. They aren’t prepared for the reality of this world…_

“You wanna get through this? Do as I say.”

_If they can’t listen, none of us have a chance of survival. They cannot afford to be soft._

“Now pick up what you can and run.”

The women reach him and Furiosa sees his expression. She feels slightly smug about it.

“Kill switches,” she says confidently. “I set the sequence myself. This Rig goes nowhere without me.”

He pauses for a moment before grunting in his raspy voice, “You can get in.”

_I will not leave them._

“Not without them,” she replies.

He looks at her with frustration before looking back to the war parties on their tail in the distance - seemingly figuring out their situation.

_Dammit, no._

“So we wait,” he rasps.

_Shit. Alright. We need to convince him.. He’s not typical Wasteland scum. He understands leverage._

She climbs up to the window to talk to him face to face. She plays no games, doesn’t threaten him, doesn’t do anything except tell him the truth.

“You’re relying on the gratitude of a very bad man. You’ve already damaged one of his wives, how grateful do you think he’s gonna be?”

_Come on…listen to me._

He’s silent.

_Dammit. Alright, the concept of scaring him doesn’t work. He did just crawl out of a fire storm fairly unscathed. Next._

“You’re sitting on two thousand horse power of nitro-boosted war machine. I’d say you’ve got about a five minute head start.”

_Take the deal. Take the fucking deal…we’re running out of time. Come on!!_

Silence.

_Fuck, he’s not scared…shitshitshit. He’s not afraid despite obviously being a prisoner at the Citadel?? Mothers, now what… What does he…oh, yeah that should work._

“You want that thing off your face?”

With that, she sees his piercing gaze on her. She’s got him. She scoffs inwardly feeling a little bit of victory. He opens the door allowing all of them to get in.

“Let’s go,” she commands to the girls.

_We’re safe. We’re safe in the Rig. And I can take him if he tries anything._

She hands him the file. He snatches it from her grip obviously still on guard.

_You should be. But there’s no reason to kill you…for now._

He’s instantly suspicious of any moves she makes. She coolly drives forward, barely acknowledging him.

_We are not your hostages. We are not your prisoners. You owe me. I could have left you to die. It would have been easy…_


	14. Into The Canyon

“Of all the legs you had to shoot, that one was attached to his favorite,” the girl with the shortest hair says.

He’s confused, but he doesn’t care enough to find out what’s going on here exactly. Right now he needed to have the upper hand. This woman…this… Furiosa was dangerous, there was no question about that. These girls…

_Why are they even out here?_

He finds himself strangely wondering about it, but the thought disappears when he sees a bag on the floor he can use. He snatches it from the girls, violently emptying out its contents.

“Smeg!” the skinny one who had the bolt cutters says aggressively.

_Minimize the threat. Disarm this woman._

He starts to grab any and every weapon in his line of sight, his gun still trained on the woman. He reaches around the trailer, his movement jerky and wild. He wordlessly orders the girls to hand over more weapons, choosing instead to communicate with snaps of his fingers and facial expressions.

_There’s no need to talk._

The girls continue with their useless conversation. He has what he needs, and no one had hurt him yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one, but don't worry! There are longer chapters ahead of us!  
> I made a note about the change in tense, if anyone is interested.  
> I'm slightly drunk so this maybe a bit more interesting to me than it is to you.  
> But feel free to ask if you're interested!  
> I suppose it's not in this chapter though.


	15. More Friends

The Rig continued forward through the desert - he used the time to file down the lock to the muzzle as fast as he could. He suddenly registers where they all are, approaching the canyon.

_This is not good. She must not know…_

He goes to pull the wheel and warn her. “Ah…stay out of there…” he croaks out. But she isn’t listening, she’s looking beyond his face.

“Behind you,” she says calmly.

“Huh?” He asks with incredulity.

_Do not look behind you without some security of safety._

She gestures with her head.

_What’s over there?_

Max didn’t have to ask. The short-haired girl announces it to the group. “The Gastown boys.” He needs to look.

_I’m not risking it._

He grabs the short-haired girl’s scarf, pointing the gun at her face.

“Don’t damage the goods,” she says. He’s barely paying attention.

“What do you see?” the woman asks.

The girls reply telling her about all of the threats they saw. This was no simple chase. He merely grunts before returning to filing the muzzle. It was then that the entire Rig started to shake.

_What the hell?_

The woman lets out a cry of frustration. “Arghhh, we’re draggin’ something out back! I think it’s the fuel pod.” She makes a move to exit the trailer and he stops her.

“No, no. I’ll go.”

_Need to assess the situation. Will leave if I have to._

He picks up the bag of weapons and crawls onto the roof of the Rig. He makes it to the tanker and drops the bag, putting on his jacket.

He suddenly feels a bit more secure, a bit more human even. He continues to saw at the lock and navigates his way down to the connection between the fuel pod and the tanker. One of the hydraulic cables had disconnected.

_Hm…strange._

He doesn’t think much else of it before connecting the cable back. The Rig immediately picks up speed, almost like it had also found comfort in being whole again. He climbs back up to the top of the tanker looking around the Rig. In the distance, he notices another group of vehicles speeding towards them.

_Shit._

He saws a bit more aggressively, suddenly feeling as if he was almost there. Another moment of sawing and he had bitten through the metal that had plagued him for days. A caged man cannot be a man - he’s merely an angry animal lashing out at everyone. The last bits of anger and wild ferocity leave him as soon as he removes it. He felt human. Max looked at it, giving it one last almost triumphant glance before tossing it off the Rig. 

_Never again._

He marched back to the trailer, hearing several of the girls yelling. As he climbed back to the window he heard Furiosa yelling to “throw him out!” He looked inside and was fairly surprised to see the kid being restrained by the girls. He looked at Furiosa who seemed a bit shaken.

_Where the hell did he come from? Is…is she okay? I guess we’ll deal with that later…_

“You’ve got more friends,” Max told her. He gestured to somewhere in the distance behind the Rig. Furiosa looked out her window, worry on her face and in her voice.

“Bullet Farmer! They’re coming from the Bullet Farm.”

Max hung the bag of weapons on the side of the Rig and climbed back in. He heard more arguing between the kid and the girls.

“He is the one who grabs the sun!!” the kid exclaimed.

“Look how slick he’s fooled you, War Boy!” It was the short-haired girl.

“He’s a lying old man.” The red-haired one.

“By his hand, we’ll be lifted up!!” the kid defiantly said.

“THAT’S WHY WE HAVE HIS LOGO SEARED ON OUR BACKS! BREEDING STOCK! BATTLE FODDER!!” the pregnant one started to yell as they opened the door to the Rig.

“No! I am awaited!” the kid replied weakly.

“YOU’RE AN OLD MAN’S BATTLE FODDER!” The red-haired one again.

“KILLING EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING!” The pregnant one added.

Max was actually taken aback by their anger. It was pure rage. And the kid was taking the brunt of it. Max looked at them, eyebrows furrowed. For the way they looked, their anger seemed…almost murderous. Furiosa’s eyes were glossy and she looked at Max for a moment.

_What…happened to them….?_

Max knew exactly what sort of anger they had. It was the anger only helpless people hid. As soon as they were no longer helpless, the frustration and restlessness that was bottled up for so long had to come out, and it was usually explosive.

“We’re not to blame!!” the kid attempted to reason with the girls.

“THEN WHO KILLED THE WORLD?!?” the pregnant one yelled back as they pushed him out of the Rig and onto the unforgiving ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! Here's the tense change!!  
> So, my version of events is that when Max is in feral mode, he thinks of everything in present tense.  
> It's like he has to pay attention to everything while it's happening.  
> But his more human side can be expressed in past tense c:


	16. The Canyon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter for you lovely people!! :D  
> Hope you enjoy it!

Furiosa announced to the group what was about to happen. “I made a deal up ahead, safe passage. I don’t know if it’s still any good.”

She turned to the girls and gave them direction, “Get back in the hold. Keep the hatch open.”

She looked at the man who seemed…different since he had gotten the muzzle off of his face. Maybe it was because she could see his face, but she felt comfortable enough asking him for help.

_Can I trust him? I…don’t know. I…don’t trust… anyone._

This was a foreign feeling to Furiosa. She had never depended on anybody for trust. Why was she willing to take a chance on this random feral Wastelander?

_But he’s not one. He’s different…_

She went with her gut. “I need you here, you may have to drive the Rig,” she told the man. He looked at her intently, seemingly thinking for a moment. She heard him grunt in response. All of the girls except Angharad had left the trailer for the hold. As Angharad got up to leave, the man snapped his fingers and pointed.

“You, you stay,” he said abruptly. “You stay there.”

_Dammit. We were doing so well. There’s no point in lying to him, I…need his help._

“Whatever you do, you can’t be seen. I’m supposed to be alone, that was the deal,” she explained to him. She hoped he would comply. To her relief, he immediately got into the hatch.

“Down here,” she heard him say in his gravelly tone. Angharad lowered herself into the hatch next to him. Furiosa looked back - he made an effort not to touch the girl. She was simply his security. The Rig continued forward.

Suddenly, Furiosa had a question for him. “Hey, what’s your name?” No response. “What do I call you?” she tried again.

“Does it matter?” he replied.

She sighed aloud.

_Oh, for shit’s sake…_

_Men._

“Fine,” she relented reluctantly.

_But you’re not getting out of this._

“When I yell ‘fool,’ you drive outta here as fast you can.” She didn’t miss his raised eyebrow in response to her choice in name.

_You could have just told me._

She showed him the override for the kill switch, making sure he understood.

When he gave her a small nod, she hoped she was right in trusting him. Despite that, he had his gun pointed at her.

_This could be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. I don’t know anything about him and here I am giving him the whole Rig…what am I doing…but…what choice do I have?_

She pushed the thought of him out of her mind as she prepared for the exchange. Using her fingers, she gathered grease from the steering column, painting her forehead with it. She felt different with it on. As she glanced at herself in the mirror, she realized she wasn’t Furiosa anymore. It was time to be an Imperator.

She stopped the vehicle in the heart of the canyon, slowly stepping out of the Rig and looking around with her hands up.

_Where are they?_

“It’s all here! Three thousand gallons of guzzoline, just like you asked,” she called out to the tops of the ridges. She paused waiting for a response that didn’t come. “I’m gonna unhitch the pod,” she continued. “You drop the rocks.”

_Just be natural. Give them what they want so you can be on your way._

The sounds of motorbikes filled the expanse of the canyon. The leader of the Rock Riders spoke up, accusing her already.

“You said ‘a few vehicles in pursuit, maybe’…we count three war parties!!” He pointed to the distance beyond the canyon.

“Yeah, well I got unlucky,” she said quietly. She then yelled out to the Riders in her usual confident and aloof Imperator voice, “Let’s do this!!”

_Be calm. Continue with the deal._

She walked towards the fuel pod, stopping as she approached it. There was a vehicle barreling into the canyon followed by the rest of Joe’s party. She suddenly heard Angharad’s cries of pain…and she knew the jig was up. Tears of stress filled her eyes once more as she realized she would need to trust the nameless man and hope that he would do what she asked.

_Please…please. Please don’t betray my trust. I will not survive without your help._

It was time.

“FOOL!!!” she screamed and rolled behind the Rig, propelling herself into motion. The Rig immediately came to life and accelerated. She ran along side it.

_Thank you. Thank you…I know we’re not out of this yet, but…thank you._

She didn’t have time to think too much about it, she just knew that she was alive. And she wasn’t alone. And that was more than enough to keep her going. The Riders started to shoot and she could hear their bikes racing towards her. She managed to fling herself under the Rig and climb into the hatch. She was on her way up when a pair of arms dragged her legs down. She kicked violently, freeing herself of the Rider's grasp and climbing further into the Rig. As she climbed back into the trailer, the Fool handed her a shotgun.

She took a moment to look at him, almost wanting to crack a smile, but kept it back. He stared back at her. It was a silent exchange between them - telling the other that it was okay to trust for now. They wouldn’t leave each other to fend for themselves. They were a team. She loaded up the shotgun as she took a minute to ponder it.

_Hm. It’s odd…I don’t even know his name. But I guess I don’t need to._

The Rig pushed forward with him at the wheel. They were surrounded by Riders. She had no plan in place, she would take them on as they came at her. It seemed like that was the way the Fool thought as well as she saw him reload his handgun.

The first challenge they were going to face, apparently, was grenades being lobbed at them by Riders flying through the air above the Rig. They managed to get three grenades onto the Rig before Furiosa was able to take one out with the shotgun. The front of the Rig was on fire, but she wasn’t worried. This was her Rig. It was as resilient as she was.

As another rider tried to toss another grenade, the Fool took aim with his handgun hitting his target with several well placed shots. 

_Keep it up._

Furiosa pulled a lever lowering the Rig’s cow catcher allowing sand to pass over the flames, snuffing them out. More Riders followed them - they needed to thin out the numbers. Immediately, Furiosa opened the sunroof and stood up. To her slight surprise, the Fool was ready with a rifle. She heard him load it and it was obvious that it was as natural to him as it was to her. Barely a few seconds later, he held the rifle up for her to take - she grabbed it without any hesitation. As she managed to take two of the Riders out on her side, she was acutely aware of his movements as well. One landed a grenade on the rig before the Fool got him. As she waited for her next target to appear, she heard him reload and shoot out to the other side of the Rig. She felt the reverberation of the handgun against her lower legs, and she knew she was safe with him watching her back. Two more bikers went down at the hands of the rifle and she ducked back into the Rig.

“Reload the clip,” she ordered, handing the rifle to Angharad.

“I can’t…” Angharad breathed.

_You have to. You have to at least learn. This is the Wasteland._

Toast angrily took the rifle from her hands and worked on it herself.

Furiosa stood back up a few seconds later and realized the leader of the Riders had made it to the Rig.

_Shit._

“Gun!” she yelled at Toast. “GIMME THE GUN!!” she yelled louder.

“It’s not loaded yet!!!” Toast yelled back.

Furiosa had no choice but to duck down with a suppressed scream. The Fool took note of her distress, seeing the biker through the sunroof and firing at him. He went down, his motorbike breaking the rear window.

_Mothers. Thank you…let’s keep it going._

A Rider came down from a higher ridge carrying a large bunch of dynamite. Furiosa grabbed the first gun from the Fool’s stolen stash. She realized too late that it was a flare gun, but the Fool had her covered. He shot through the window, giving them both room to fire at the biker. He went down, dropping the dynamite. It managed to explode right at the coupling between the tanker and the fuel pod sending the fuel pod into a boulder.

The Rig made it out of the canyon and sped forward, the only vehicle chasing it was Joe’s.

_We can do this._


	17. The Rocks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no :c

Max kept his foot on the accelerator thankful that the fuel pod had uncoupled. They were carrying much less weight and it was giving them an advantage. Suddenly, Max heard a man roaring and the distinct sound of a flamethrower. He noticed Furiosa looking out her window and looked back as well. The Immortan asshole’s vehicle was gaining on them. Max, all at once, became aware that she had no cover on that side. He would have to jam the throttle and stand up from the roof if someone tried to fire on her. Furiosa was busy loading a revolver as the vehicle came closer. Max was thinking of a plan when the back door abruptly opened. When he looked back, the pregnant girl - being held by the redhead and the short-haired girl - blocked any shot that could be made at Furiosa. They looked at the Immortan defiantly, daring him to pull the trigger.

_What the hell are these girls…oh shit. That is…bulletproof cover…_

Max heard the asshole yell at the girl. “Splendid! Splendid!! That’s my child!! My property!!!” The girl didn’t budge. She sat exposed, unafraid, in silent protest. Max didn’t know this girl from any Wastelander, but from what he had seen so far…she was one of the bravest people he had encountered in his life.

_He won’t shoot…right?_

Max didn’t have a chance to find out. Furiosa took aim at the asshole and fired. From what Max could see, she would have made the shot had one of his lackeys not jumped in front of him to take the bullets.

_We need to get moving. We have a better chance of getting away if we focus on running and not confrontation. But, this girl is something else. They all are…we may actually get out of this alive._

He pushed the Rig forward, figuring out what to do next. In the next moment, he saw the asshole jump his vehicle off of a natural ramp and land in front of the Rig.

_Shit._

He saw a harpoon being set up, and as they passed the vehicle, one of the other lackeys took aim at Max and Furiosa with a mini crossbow. They both were ready and took him out with a couple bullets each. It seemed like they’d be in the clear. Max wasn’t sure what the harpoon was aiming for, but he tried to remain aware. Less than a second later, the harpoon flew through his window and caught hold of the steering wheel.

_Oh…oh no._

There was no time to react before the wheel was pulled from the column, jammed between the door and Max’s hand.

_Ahhhhh. Help help help help!_

Furiosa immediately grabbed the wheel, trying to pull it back to give Max’s hand some room. The pain was searing. He wasn’t sure what was going on, he just knew that someone needed to help him soon. Tears started to form in his eyes. He heard the back door open, and saw out of the corner of his eye the one supposedly called Splendid and the red-head hurrying to use the bolt cutters. Between the two of them, they were able to successfully cut the chain, releasing Max’s hand. He covered his hand, willing the pain to stop and saw Furiosa attaching a wrench to the steering column.

Suddenly, he heard a shriek from the back ,“LOOK OUT!!”

Max looked up and saw them heading right for a jagged rock, he immediately twisted his side of the wrench to the right covering Furiosa’s metal hand. Furiosa followed suit, and the two pulled as hard as they could to move the rig out of the way. Max heard yelling, this time from Joe’s vehicle.

“ANGHARAD!!! GET OUT!!!!”

All Max knew is that the side of the Rig had crashed into the rock, and he couldn’t see Angharad. He looked out the window, hoping she was somehow still there.

_….Where…please let her be…_

He then saw a flash of blonde, Angharad holding onto a chain, making her way back to the trailer. As she climbed, Max could only give her a look of amazement. She looked back at him, smirking and he gave her a small thumbs up, approval written on his face. 

_Where did these women all come from? …Furiosa..Ang-Angharad..? The other ones? I…never mind. It’s better not to know. Focus._

It was only a second since he had seen Angharad, but he suddenly heard her whimpering and the sound of a door hinge breaking.

_Huh? …No…no..nononono…_

He heard the door break and Angharad’s yell of panic. The girls screamed her name and Max stared out the window, his eyes searching. He saw her body, laying on the ground in the path of Joe’s vehicle.

_NO!_

Joe flipped his buggy over in an attempt to save her. But Max knew that she was already gone.

He felt the red-head grab onto his sleeve. “Stop!! Turn the Rig around!!”

_.…Again…it’s..happened again…_

The image of Glory’s lifeless body in his arms came rushing back.

_….…Why? It’s..me, isn’t it?_

“Go back for her!”

Max couldn’t do that to her - he couldn’t even entertain the idea of giving her hope that her friend was still alive. 

“No,” he said.

As she clung to his sleeve with tears in her eyes, she begged Furiosa, “Tell him to turn the Rig around!!!”

“Did you see it?” Furiosa asked. Max could see the tears forming in her eyes too - uncertainty written on her face. She would turn back if he said to. 

_I..have to be cold. I have to be detached. I can’t..afford to do this again…she’s gone…just like all the others…_

The idea of Furiosa, or any of the women in the Rig with him having to go through so much grief made Max sick. But there was nothing that could be done. He wished he could undo all of it…but he’d gone down that road so many times. There was no undoing it.

He answered Furiosa’s question, not looking at her. “She went under the wheels.” He had to say it plainly. This was the Wasteland, there was no guarantee of anything.

“Did you see it??” Furiosa asked again, more forcefully.

“She went under the wheels,” Max replied with finality, looking her in the eye. He saw Furiosa hesitate for a moment. It was more difficult than Max wanted to admit seeing Furiosa cry. She was far more composed than the rest of the women, but Max knew what hiding your emotions was like on the inside. He wanted nothing more than to take away their pain.

“We keep moving,” Furiosa declared to them.

“NO!” one of them screamed.

“We keep moving!!” she said again, louder.

The cries of the women filled Max’s ears, yet all he could do was stare off into the distance, hoping they would heal from this better than he ever did.


	18. Beyond The Mountains

The Rig had traveled just a bit farther until the last few hours caught up with it. The engines were overheated and it seemed that everyone needed a moment. The silence in the Rig was deafening. Furiosa and the Fool had managed to rig a crossbow to the steering column using duct tape. As she adjusted it, she looked at his hand still bleeding from his wound. She didn’t ask about it. She was healing from her own wounds.

_Angharad. I failed you. I couldn’t save you. A part of me has been lost with you. I’m so sorry._

The bravest and the most inspiring one out of all of them. Yes, they were all beautiful and inspiring in their own way, but Angharad was the one who brought them out of the depths of despair despite her own deep struggles with being a Wife. She was the one who encouraged them to leave. She’s the one whose words are painted in their former prison. Furiosa was always hard on Angharad, but she knew that if the young woman had learned about the world outside of the Citadel, she would be even more inspiring than she was as a Wife. Her friendship and kind words bonded the Wives, as well as Furiosa, for life despite all their differences. Her absence left a void that Furiosa, the young women, and even the stranger seemed to feel.

As Furiosa and the stranger brought water to cool the engines of the Rig, she heard a commotion from the girls. She saw Cheedo running away, Capable and the Dag on her heels.

“Cheedo!!”

“Cheedo! Don’t be stupid!”

“Stop!”

“He’ll forgive us, I know he will!”

“There is no going back!!”

“We were his treasures! We were protected!! He gave us the high life, what’s wrong with that??”

Furiosa knew the other girls would take care of Cheedo, but there was a threat on a motorcycle heading towards them. She quickly neutralized the threat with the rifle. Her eyes were still swollen from the tears, a lump in her throat. But there was nowhere else to go.

* * *

Max heard the women arguing and saw the smallest one - Cheedo, apparently - bolting for the mountains. Grief did awful things to people. Going back would have made Angharad’s death pointless, but Max understood her desire to go back to before it happened. He heard the red-head scream that there was no going back.

_If only you knew how right you were…_

As he opened the Rig’s hood, the heat dissipated and he saw Furiosa pick up the rifle once more. Max looked into the distance and saw two painted men on a motorbike heading for them. Furiosa got them both in one shot. Max was as distraught as the rest of them, but he felt compelled spare a thought at Furiosa’s abilities.

_Hm._

He looked back at the women to see them consoling each other. His face gave nothing away, but the grief of losing such a woman to the Wastes had taken a hold of him as well. Perhaps she would become one of his ghosts. He hoped he was wrong.

_Angharad... I’m sorry._


	19. To The East

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angharad :c  
> Honestly, it gets me every single freaking time.  
> Anyway, still hope you're liking the story.

They had driven through the afternoon and were soon approaching twilight. There was a moment of calm in the Rig, the loss of Angharad holding heavy, but bonding them together in a comfortable silence. The pain from the wound on Max’s hand had reduced to a dull ache, he wrapped it gingerly and thought for a moment.

_Where are we actually going? They’ve been mentioning the ‘green place’ all day…Angharad was adamant…green place, green place…never heard of it…_

It was odd for Max to feel compelled to speak, but his voice came to him without much struggle.

“So um…” he started and cleared his throat to make sure he didn’t sound like a growling animal. “Where is this…this ‘green place’?” He turned his head to Furiosa.

She seemed hesitant for a brief second, glancing at his hand and then his face. “It’s a long night’s run, heading east,” she replied with a tinge of uncertainty.

He didn’t say anything after that.

_So…we don’t know exactly where we’re going. Got it._

He supposed it was it a sufficient enough answer though. Just keep going east until…something. He went back to staring at the desert.

“We need inventory. I want you to match every gun with its bullets,” Furiosa said to the women. There was no response.

_This is the way things are. Loss means nothing in this world. Need to move on. Need to survive._

She turned to Max, slinging a tool belt over her shoulder. “I’m gonna go down and do some repairs.”

_You need cover, you’ll be vulnerable. No more exposure. We…can’t afford to lose you._

“We need someone down the back,” Max said quickly.

A response came immediately from the red-head. “I’ll go.”

_No…that’s not a good idea…stay here. It’s not safe for you._

Furiosa echoed his thoughts. “No! I want you to stay together.”

“I can do it,” she replied confidently.

_I...dammit. Fine._

Max expressed his concession with the move of his hand.

_Just be careful._

The trailer was silent. The only noise was the clinking of bullets as the short-haired one counted their inventory.

_Hm. Alright. Knowledgeable enough to handle the guns. Good._

After some time, she spoke up. “Well, we’ve only got four for big boy here, so he’s all but useless.” She patted the rifle. Max didn’t respond.

_Noted._

She continued. “But, we can squirt off this little pinky…” Max looked at her through the rear view mirror.

_…What.._

“A raunchy twenty-nine times,” she finished.

Max scoffed inwardly.

_Really?_

He went back to watching the “road.”

The blonde spoke up a moment later, “Angharad used to call them anti-seed…”

_…Yeah…_

“Plant one and watch the thing die,” Cheedo added.

_Innocent. Naive. But…_

He recalled a time when the world was full of people like them.

_There’s no room left for those people._


	20. Into The Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go!  
> A long chapter for you all c:  
> This was so fun to watch and write about.  
> Also, because I've recently become quite the car nerd and I love driving manual, I couldn't resist mentioning that the Rig is a manual vehicle and how Nux actually managed to get it moving. I thought that was a pretty cool touch for a car person.  
> Let me know what you think?

A few hours had passed, the sun had gone down, and some of the women had fallen asleep. Furiosa had returned from the repairs, Max was still driving. There was nothing in particular on his mind, the company with him seemed to keep his ghosts at bay. He found himself more relaxed than he had been in a long time. As relaxed as he could be, anyway. He was feeling tired, but he had to keep going. The Rig seemed to be fine on the damp sand for quite a while, but it had now started to swerve around.

_Shit._

He blinked out of his fatigue induced lull, stopping the Rig. He felt the entire vehicle sink into the mud, but thought that the tires could handle it. He was wrong. With the accelerator pushed down, the wheels continued to spin deeper into the mud. Max, Furiosa, and all the women got out of the Rig - Max and Furiosa directing them how to help with replacing the tires.

_We need to hurry…_

When that was finished, Max had a thought. He saw the glow of the pursuers’ headlights in the distance. 

_They’re not as far as I’d like. We need to create some more distance._

He grabbed some explosive charges from the Rig and placed them directly into the grooves that the Rig made as it traveled.

_They’re going to follow this exact line. It’s dark, they won’t see them._

He ran back to the Rig and they all continued forward with Furiosa driving. Some time had passed and Max wondered.

_If they haven’t run over them by now, it has to be soon. They couldn’t have missed them…_

He tried to listen to the wind, to the quiet of the Wasteland hoping he could hear the explosion. He heard nothing, but he was confident that they had run into his trap.

The Rig managed to make it a bit further before it sunk into the mud again. They all got out to help once more. Max didn’t see the lights of the war parties any longer when he looked into the distance.

_We’re okay for now. Bought us time._

Max, the blonde, and the short-haired one dragged one of the engine plates to the tires, the other women digging the other tires out of the sand. Once he figured they were ready, he gave the Rig a pat signaling to Furiosa to step on it. To his dismay, the tires kept spinning into the mud. Suddenly Max heard two shots ring out into the night. He turned around and saw a single light approaching them.

Two more shots rang out.

_….Fuck. We need to get out of here. Now._

Max couldn’t quite assess the threat, he only knew that whoever it was wasn’t being slowed down by the mud. He, Cheedo, the blonde, and the short-haired one shoved the engine plates under the tires once more. Suddenly the Rig started to move.

_Wow, we did it. Nice._

As the Rig moved forward, Max looked over to Cheedo, the short-haired one, and Furiosa standing next to them with the rifle.

_Uh…wait…_

It took another second to register that Furiosa was standing there. Max’s eyes widened slightly with realization. It seemed that everyone had the same thought as the whole group ran towards the Rig.

_Shit, the Rig! Who the hell is…_

Max didn’t finish the thought. The red-head yelled to them all as the Rig charged forward.

“He wants to help!!!”

“Who?!” Furiosa yelled back.

“The War Boy!!”

“Where did he come from??!” the short-haired one added loudly.

“I thought we threw him off the Rig!!” yelled the blonde one.

Max dashed to the driver’s door and opened it pointing his handgun at the kid.

_What the fuck are you even doing here? Where did you even…_

“There’s high ground, just beyond that thing!” the kid explained quickly. Max looked at him skeptically.

_Okay…_

“He means the tree,” the red-head clarified.

“Yeah! Tree!” the kid said.

_Don’t move a muscle._

Furiosa walked towards Max, “Leave him to me.” She handed Max the rifle.

_Alright, I’ve got it._

Max walked to the rear of the Rig and knelt down taking aim at the light. He tried to focus and fired a shot, missing.

_Damn._

“You’ve got two left!” the short-haired one reminded him.

_….Thanks…_

Max deadpanned before taking aim again. He fired another shot, missing once more.

_Goddammit…_

He attempted to aim once more, trying to concentrate when he felt Furiosa kneeling behind him. He turned his head and saw her hands outstretched, silently and humbly asking for the rifle.

_Grr…fine._

He couldn’t make the shot, and he had seen her shoot.

_Let’s see you do it then…_

Despite his confidence in her abilities, Max was still a man with an ego. Relinquishing the rifle was necessary, but it stung just a tiny bit. The fact that she could do it didn’t annoy him at all, it was the fact that he couldn’t. He waited for her to take aim.

_So…what’s your plan?_

Suddenly he felt both the rifle on his shoulder and her elbow on his back.

_Uh…_

He raised his eyebrow, slightly incredulous.

_You’re…you’re serious?_

His question was answered when Furiosa gave him instruction. “Don’t breathe,” she said quietly.

_O..kay.._

Max sat perfectly still, trying not to flinch as he anticipated the ear shattering sound and the recoil from the rifle. He somehow had a feeling that she was ever so slightly amused at her idea. He only had one second to adjust before she pulled the trigger, the sound of the rifle piercing the air around him, a small explosion at his shoulder. The light in the distance immediately went out and Max tried to get the ringing in his ears to stop.

_Huh. Nice shot…at the expense of my hearing._

He shook his head a bit more, registering that the kid was making a run for the tree.

“Gonna take the winch, and wrap it ‘round the tree thing!” the kid explained.

Max sprinted after him and grabbed the winch.

_Also not a bad idea. Time is not on our side._

“You drive the Rig!” he told the kid.

As the kid ran back to the Rig and was about to get into the driver seat, Max tried to stretch the winch around the tree. It wasn’t long enough.

_C’mon…goddammit just a little further!_

He struggled a bit more until he saw the kid running back with a piece of the chain that used to be part of Max’s leash.

“Blood bag!!” the kid called out. Max ran to the kid and grabbed the chain, scrambling back to the tree. A few moments later, Max had successfully rounded the winch to the tree. He gave the kid the signal to go. Max waited with baited breath for the Rig to move. The kid started to rev the engine with no luck. The Rig lurched in place turning the mud between the tires but not getting any traction.

_Move. C’mon. Move!_

Suddenly, Max heard the sound of bullets whizzing towards them. He saw Furiosa and Cheedo slightly behind the Rig, the blonde one and the short-haired one running towards him. Furiosa didn’t hesitate to grab Cheedo and cover her as they fell to the ground. Max was about to run to help her.

_Shit! They have no cover!_

He stopped when he saw Furiosa grab the engine plate and use it as a shield. He didn’t have time to see what happened, the shots reached the area around him - he sprinted to the dead tree hoping the wood was thick enough for the bullets not to pierce it all the way.

_Goddammit!! Are they okay?! Please let this tree be thick enough…we need to get out of here. Kid, come on, get moving!!_

The bullets kept coming, but they soon turned to mini-grenades. One landed directly in front of the tree knocking Max back into the dirt.

_Shit shit shit…_

He heard another land somewhere farther away.

_…Furiosa?!_

He managed to scramble to his feet and get back behind the tree, the bullets continuing to pierce the wood.

_Ahhh!! Make it stop!!_

Max could only hope that the tree would keep shielding him from the flurry of bullets and explosions.

The kid was still stepping on the gas, but the tree was doing most of the work as the Rig continued to lurch forward. The winch tightened on both ends and Max heard both the Rig and the tree struggling to hold on. As he wrapped his hands around the tree hoping to keep the winch in place, it started to uproot. He stood there dumbly hugging the tree unable to do much else. He couldn’t let go of the winch, they needed to unbuckle it - dragging the tree was not an optimal choice.

_Fuckfuckfuckfuck._

Suddenly, Max heard the kid disengage the clutch and start to hit the accelerator. As he heard the clutch engage as the kid lifted his foot, the Rig caught and finally barreled forward just as the tree fell to the ground.

_Finally. Thanks uh…thanks for the help…tree…_

Max fell with it making sure to unhook the winch as the Rig raced towards him. He let go of it, the winch whipping back into the grill of the Rig as he climbed onto the driver side door looking at the kid with wide eyes.

_Holy shit. We’re moving…_

The kid let out a nervous chuckle.

_Let’s go let’s go let’s go, keep moving!!!_

They made it to dry ground to Max’s relief. He dismounted from the Rig and immediately went to the small stash of weapons and supplies they had kept between the trailer and the tanker. He grabbed anything and everything that could be used to take out these maniacs who were after them. He made sure to take a tank of gas and the bolt cutters. 

It was only one car, but he wasn’t sure what he’d find. Max was confident in what he needed to do, and if they wanted to have any chance of getting through the night, it had to be done. He set off towards the darkness behind them, suddenly remembering something. He turned around to see Furiosa looking at him with concern.

“Hey, you need to take the War Rig half a klick down the track,” he told her. She looked confused and slightly shaken. She started to shake her head.

“What if you’re not back by the time the engines are cooled?” she asked.

Max was thinking of how to get the upper hand as he looked back into the night. 

_Maybe run at them…or maybe start stealt-wait what?_

He suddenly registered what Furiosa had asked him, now confused himself.

_Uh..is this a serious question?_

“Well, you keep moving,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He looked back at her once more, not thinking of anything, but taking note of her expression as he ran towards the gunfire.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Furiosa was slightly taken aback at the Fool’s bluntness. Didn’t everything they had been through mean something? She asked him about the worst case scenario so they could formulate a plan in case he got into trouble. 

_We’re not going to leave you behind…_

But he barely hesitated when he essentially told her to forget about him if she was able to leave. 

_I’m not..doing that. Unless you don’t come back, I’m not leaving you. And even then…_

The only person she realized she had ever trusted with her life, the only person she had ever relied on, was telling her to abandon him unless he could fight for himself. As she watched him run off into the distance, she could only hope he’d come back to them. At the same time, she understood his indifference. 

She had always been indifferent to anyone offering anything to her. She had seen far too much to place her trust in anyone. He obviously wasn’t someone who relied on other people, you couldn’t have that luxury in The Wasteland. But despite the fact that she had to rely on him, he hadn’t let her down yet. And it meant something out here. 

He could have killed her with a shot to the skull, killed all of the girls too, he could have done so much to hurt them by now, but he didn’t. He protected them, and that was something that Furiosa was struggling to accept. Of course it was to guarantee his own survival, but she had realized over time that humans didn’t want to just survive. They were selfish. Survival was never enough, but for him, it was. And maybe it was because when they found each other, he was an animal. 

Is a wild dog selfish or evil because he kills his prey only to feed himself - not due to any malice? Is a wild dog selfish or evil when he stays away from others knowing they might attack? He did try to steal the Rig, but she had started that fight. Self preservation dictated to him to get as far away from her as possible. She strangely understood. 

She couldn’t let herself get soft, but she also couldn’t deny that that he was someone that she wanted around. She felt safe with him. 

_Please, come back._

“What do you suppose he’s gonna do?” Toast asked her. 

“Retaliate first,” Furiosa replied as he ran out of sight.


	21. Into The Fog

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO CHECK THIS OUT! 
> 
> I'd really really like to thank Connor_Bellerophon for giving me this idea.  
> I really didn't think about writing the unseen fight scene between Max and the Bullet Farmer.  
> Why didn't I think of that? Well, I have no clue. I mean it seems so obvious to write.  
> So that being said, I sincerely hope you like my version of events.  
> I've never written violence before, so this was a super cool creative challenge.  
> Please let me know what you think!! I appreciate all of your comments, they mean so much to me <3  
> Enjoy, friends!
> 
> -YNMS

As Max scampered towards the fog with his arms full of weapons, he prepared himself for what he would find. He wasn’t sure how many men he had to deal with, but he was sure that Furiosa’s shot had left the pursuers at a severe disadvantage. Max spared a thought for the look on Furiosa’s face as he had told her to leave him behind if he wasn’t back in time. 

Even if he wasn’t able to fully admit it to himself, he had appreciated the comfort of her trust and support as they had gone through every trial so far. He saw the same feelings in Furiosa’s look, but he couldn’t afford to dwell more on it. 

_Doesn’t matter. Gonna leave anyway._

The gunfire was getting louder and Max knew he was close to whatever he was going to find. It was hard to see more than a few feet in front of him, but he at least had the advantage of hearing the vehicle on the sand. The pursuers, however, were left deaf due to Max’s stealth. 

He wondered what they were expecting to see as they got closer - probably the Rig sitting in wet sand and the women scared and defenseless. Max knew that if anything happened to him, Furiosa would be ready to take on whatever came after her, but he secretly resented the idea of leaving her and the girls alone.

_Can’t think of her. Need to focus._

Max decided that the best course of action would be to lay in wait slightly to the side of the vehicle’s path. He’d stay far enough back for the fog to obscure any view of him, but close enough that he could take out as many men as possible before they saw him. Max heard the distinct sound of chains on tires, and knew that he didn’t have much more time to set up. He quickly lay prone in the sand, keeping his mishmash of supplies and the khukri close to him. 

He reloaded his pistol with the last full magazine he had and hoped that it would be enough. Other than the gas can, he didn’t have much more fire power at his disposal. He wished he hadn’t wasted two precious rifle rounds on foolishly shooting into the dark earlier. He lamented that he hadn’t given Furiosa the rifle earlier. He’d at least have something a little more powerful than his handgun. 

_Dammit. Guess I really am a ‘Fool.’ Couldn’t have just given her damn gun, could I? Her shot is…she is….never mind._

Max quickly shook his head, refocusing on the task at hand. It was getting harder and harder to keep his mind from drifting towards thoughts of Furiosa. He was annoyed at himself for it. He blinked rapidly, trying to pay more attention to the approaching gunfire. The biggest threat so far would be the grenade launchers that he had encountered earlier - but then again, he wasn’t sure how many grenades the pursuers had left. 

When he thought about it, along with the random spray of bullets clearly indicating that the men had no idea where their prey was, the grenades were just used as a more powerful attack. When Max recalled it, he counted that six grenades had been used against them before the explosions had stopped altogether. The gunfire had continued though, which led Max to the conclusion that whomever he was about to meet had no grenades left. 

Max took a deep breath and steeled himself. He was a bit more confident now, although the sounds of the machine guns still pierced the silence of the night. There wasn’t much of a plan that Max could formulate until he saw what he was dealing with. 

At that moment, the mystery was solved. The vehicle approached and Max counted three men standing up, and a driver down below. Two of the standing men and the driver were obviously lackeys to the other man, who was the one shooting blindly into the dark. When Max looked closer, he realized that it wasn’t an exaggeration - the man really was blind. He smirked and huffed out a small laugh, thinking about Furiosa. 

_Nice work._

The other two men standing had worried expressions on their faces, clearly perturbed at their boss’ recklessness. Max wondered what would happen had any of these men actually injured the Immortan arsehole’s ‘wives.’

_That’s not going to happen._

Max took a deep breath, silencing all thoughts. His body seemed to recall some far gone memory of firearm and stealth training. It wasn’t even a conscious thought, Max’s body knew exactly what to do. His mind had obscured the events in his life that had surrounded the training, but his body remembered everything. As the pursuit vehicle approached closer, Max took aim from his position on the sand. Maybe he wasn’t great with a rifle, but he was a deadeye when it came to his hand gun. He knew the exact distance he needed to be to hit his targets. 

_One shot, one kill._

The vehicle had slowed down slightly, the driver seemingly concerned about the darkness and fog around them. Furiosa had shot out the one search light leaving the driver to struggle in the dark and he wasn’t doing well. His boss was still screaming into the night, but Max could tell from the hesitancy of the guy’s driving that he was scared. The other two also appeared to be worried about what they would find. Max knew this was the perfect time to attack and aimed directly at the boss’ head. It only took him a second to register that the man that Furiosa had blinded was the Bullet Farmer. 

_Better finish the job, then._

Max took another breath and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out into the night alerting the other two men mounted on the vehicle. The Bullet Farmer immediately slumped onto the roof of the vehicle, his head dripping blood. One of the men yelled out to the others. 

“SHOOTER! Stop the car!!!” The vehicle stopped and the two men dismounted, landing on the ground and looking into the darkness, confused. The driver exited the vehicle and took up one of the MP5s from the Bullet Farmer’s hands, before joining his cohorts in the search for the one who had killed their boss. Max knew that as the men stood longer in the dark, their paranoia and fear would continue to overtake their senses. 

They would do something stupid, and that’s when Max would strike. He decided that he would help them along in their fear and picked up the bolt cutters. He listened for their footsteps and tossed the cutters a bit further in front of him, creating a thumping sound in the silence of the night. 

“What was that?!?” one of the men asked aloud. 

“Shut it!! I can’t hear!” another forcefully whispered back. 

Max smirked, knowing his plan was working. He then took his boot off of his foot, and did the same as before, but arcing his throw so it would land closer to the men and a bit further to the left of Max. As soon as the driver heard the thud, he panicked and started to shoot into the darkness. He let an entire magazine of the submachine gun go to waste in a failed effort to shoot Max. 

“Are you crazy!?!” one of the lieutenants whispered to the driver. 

“I ain’t gonna be killed by no ghost in the darkness!!” the driver yelled back. 

Max knew that if he had just run at the group, he’d be taken down in an instant. They were all armed after all, and he was vastly out gunned. Even if they were starting to lose their nerve, Max couldn’t risk death just yet. They were all on high alert, so Max had to think. 

“Fan out!! We’ll find him…” one of the lieutenants ordered aloud. 

Max was running out of time. Although he could see the outline of the vehicle, he was no longer able to see any of the men clearly. The fog had overtaken the area and Max could barely see in front of him. 

_Shit._

Max had to rely on his ears and hope they wouldn’t see him. Max started to move as quietly as possible towards the vehicle hoping he wouldn’t meet one of the men head on. But Max’s luck wasn’t that good.

“Oi! I think I see someth-” the man started to say. Max didn’t hesitate, there was no room to be stealthy anymore. He ran straight at the man and tackled him. The plan was to kill him before any of the others could find exactly where he was. Max covered the man’s mouth registering that he had captured the driver. 

Max clapped his hand over the driver’s mouth, acutely aware of the MP5 that had been thrown away from the driver’s hand. The man tried to bite Max’s fingers, but Max was ready with the khukri. He wasn’t about to use his handgun and alert the other two now searching for him. 

_Sorry, mate._

Max brought the khukri to the driver’s neck, slipping it under his own arm that was still covering the man’s mouth, and gave a forceful tug against the driver’s skin. Max felt the warmth of the man’s blood splatter against him, and held him until he stopped moving. 

“Where is he??!?!” Max heard one of the other men approaching and rolled off of the body of the driver, trying to grab the fallen MP5. As soon as his fingers were on it though, it was kicked away by one of the lieutenants. “Gotcha now, ya bastard.” Max heard the distinct sound of a magazine being clicked into place, and immediately started rolling. He tucked his arms as close to himself as he could, narrowly avoiding the spray of bullets from the man’s haphazard shooting. Max didn’t think too hard, he got as close to the lieutenant as he could and slashed his leg with the khukri. The man screamed in pain and fell to the ground. 

“My leg!!!” he screamed aloud, clutching his chest with the MP5. Max took the opportunity to get on top of the lieutenant, hold his arm down, and swing the khukri at the man’s wrist. He wasn’t going to grab at the gun while it was in the man’s hand, but the guy was too in pain to do much of anything except roll around in agony. The khukri dug deep into the lieutenant’s wrist, severing nerves and veins, splashing Max’s hair with blood. 

Max didn’t realize how sharp the weapon was, because as he applied pressure to it, it completely severed the man’s hand from the rest of his arm. The lieutenant’s screams only got louder, and Max tried to search for the third man who was obviously coming to attack him. Max grabbed the MP5, the hand still attached to the trigger, while slashing powerfully at the man’s neck with the khukri. 

More blood splattered against Max’s face, as the life in the lieutenant’s eyes quickly faded. Max heard a shot fly by him and he immediately hit the ground, rolling the man’s corpse over his form. The MP5 still had the dead man’s hand attached to it, but Max couldn’t be bothered by it. The unseen man advanced, continuing to spray bullets in the vicinity of Max’s body.

Luckily, the third man was far too terrified and unnerved to shoot properly, so he continued unloading magazine after magazine at the area around Max without actually hitting anything. Max waited patiently for the barrage to stop, knowing it would only be a matter of time before the guy went totally insane. It wasn’t long after Max had used the dead guy’s body as a human shield that the third man ran towards him, screaming. Max didn’t think, he simply pulled the trigger. 

The bullets hit the man’s body with such force that he immediately fell backwards. Max pushed the dead lieutenant’s body off of himself and advanced towards the fallen man. He was whimpering. Max spared a thought for him - he was no War Boy. Max wasn’t very familiar with the Bullet Farm’s customs, but it didn’t seem anywhere near as obsessive as the mania surrounding Joe’s cult of personality. 

More than likely, this poor lad had had no choice in joining the Bullet Farm. It was either live in relative comfort and indentured servitude, or be killed somewhere in The Wastes, and more likely than not, be eaten by hunger crazed scavengers. Max knew better than anyone what one had to do to survive, but even so…

_We all make our choices._

With no hesitation, and with only mercy in mind, Max aimed the gun at the man’s head and pulled the trigger one more time. The man went still, and the sounds of Max’ killing shots were carried away by the wind, slowly disappearing until there was nothing but silence. There wasn’t time for remorse, but Max had tried his best to ensure that the men didn’t suffer for too long. Although he needed them dead, there was some long quiet part of his mind that actually extended a bit of empathy towards his attackers. 

_What the fuck…why…_

When he tried to focus on this long dead feeling, the only thing his mind could conjure up was an image of Furiosa and the girls, including Angharad, standing in the desert. 

_….Hm._

Max knew that if he thought about it more, he wouldn’t be able to do the inevitable: leave with no attachments. Max shook his head, refocusing on what needed to be done. He moved quickly and quietly to pick up his fallen supplies, and loot any useful items from the corpses of the men. He then opened the car and emptied it. He found a large sack in the trunk of the car and quickly stuffed any seemingly usable items into its interior before loading his person up with any remaining supplies. Max steadied himself and prepared to walk in the direction of the Rig. As he took a few steps forward, he suddenly looked back at the pursuit vehicle, now abandoned and stripped of all supplies. 

_I...could…_

Max surveyed the surrounding area, looking to the south, away from both the Rig and Joe’s war parties - away from Furiosa. Max put the sack of items down and looked at the car once again. His inner animal that was driven by fear, aggression, and loneliness urged him to get into the car with the supplies, and drive until he couldn’t anymore. It urged him to leave behind his newly formed allies, to leave behind his newly reconstructed humanity, and to leave behind his growing emotion for Furiosa. 

_Furiosa…_

Max suddenly felt a pang of something that he had long since forgotten about. It was an odd feeling, almost like a sudden panic response, like he had just fallen from a great height. His heart was hammering, and he almost felt nauseous. But along with the nausea was a feeling he could no longer identify. 

_What…is this?_

He suddenly had the urge to smile. It was incredibly strange. He felt…giddiness. 

_Oh…shit._

The newly blossoming humanity and compassion had now reared its ugly head. Thoughts of the women, and even Nux clouded his mind. He was growing…attached. Max quickly shook his head, clearing his mind of all this nonsense. He didn’t have time for this. He had to formulate a plan. He took one last look at the pursuit vehicle and knew what he needed to do.

He retrieved the gas tank from its position next to the sack, and poured gasoline all over the vehicle, making sure to douse the engine bay with gasoline as well. When he was finished, he grabbed a flare from the contents of the sack and prepared to light it. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. He immediately marched over to one of the dead men and pulled off a boot from the corpse’s feet, before retrieving the boot he had used as a distraction and sliding it back onto his foot.. 

He then returned to the vehicle and detached the steering wheel from its column. Max stepped back and steeled himself. Holding the boot and the wheel in one hand, and the flare in the other, Max pulled the cap off of the flare with his teeth and tossed it into the driver’s seat of the pursuit vehicle. He then reclaimed all of his new loot, and marched into the fog, motivated by his thoughts of escaping his intrusive feelings for Furiosa.


	22. Half A Klick Down The Track

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay!  
> Things have been incredibly hectic in my life lately.  
> But you know what's funny? I watched Fury Road another time the other day, and I realized I missed something in one of the later chapters.  
> I can't wait to edit that. Anyway, for now, please enjoy this five chapter update.  
> Let me know what you all think!!

“Let’s go!” she ordered to the group. They all got back in the Rig, save for the War Boy. She still wasn’t sure why he was there, and she certainly didn’t trust him, but he did just get the Rig out of the mud. He ran in front of the Rig guiding it to safety half a kilometre away from where the stranger had left them. The Dag and the War Boy worked on cooling the engines in the front while Capable and Toast brought them liquid. Cheedo stayed in the Rig.

_It’s fine. She’s still just a kid._

Furiosa was on her way to the back of the Rig, armed with a handgun, when a flash of dull orange light and the sound of an explosion caught her attention in the distance.

_Oh no…please…_

Furiosa spared one thought for the stranger before hardening up and taking aim at whoever it was to come out of the haze.

_…It…can’t be…can it? Shit…don’t let your guard down._

A figure walked towards them slowly. Furiosa didn’t fire. She was glad that she didn’t.

_Holy shit._

He had come back carrying enough ammo and supplies on his shoulders for the whole journey - a bag of what was surely weapons, a belt of shotgun shells, and a steering wheel. As he marched towards them, he glanced at her. She couldn’t gauge anything from his expression, she could only pay attention to the blood that covered his head.

_How…did he…?_

Furiosa sent a silent thanks to whoever was listening that not only was he alive, he was on her side. He had once again protected them. It occurred to her that he could have just never come back - not due to him dying, but just deciding to ride off in the vehicle that was chasing them. Presumably he killed whoever was inside before the vehicle exploded.

_He could have just taken everything and gone…anywhere. He would have enough ammo for days. This man…is no scavenger. Who is he? What..are you?_

He gave the War Boy the steering wheel he was carrying, the War Boy naturally gave him a look of disbelief. He removed the ammo belts from his shoulders and opened the bag of weapons, tossing a boot to the War Boy before walking over to a pail hanging from the Rig.

_He certainly didn’t have to do that…he…didn’t have to do any of this._

Furiosa just stared at him, still not believing that he was in front of her completely unharmed.

_We would have never gotten this far without him…_

Toast spoke up to ask him a question. “Are you hurt?”

He looked somewhat startled that someone was speaking to him and replied with a questioning grunt. “Huh?”

“You’re bleeding,” she added.

Furiosa turned to her, “That’s not his blood…” she grimly explained.

He obviously didn’t think much of it, he simply looked at the liquid contents of the pail and confusedly looked around. “What is this?” he grunted.

“It’s mother’s milk,” replied Dag. There was no real recognition in his expression. He seemed to understand, but it made no difference. He just used the milk to clean the blood off of his face.


	23. The Crows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a shorty, but a goody c:

Everyone loaded back up into the Rig, the kid now able to sit with the women in the trailer. Max saw Furiosa’s face as he walked back from the exploded vehicle. There was no reason to talk about what happened. They needed to keep moving.

_Please don’t give me that look…_

He started to recognize the looks she was giving him. They were the looks of trust and concern. He had seen them before.

_You can’t trust me._

He decided to put the issue aside, they had been stopped long enough. Max picked up driving the Rig. The night stretched on with nothing in front of them until they came across another patch of wet land. The Rig held up fine, but Max looked out the window and saw…people. People on stilts, crows flying overhead, dead trees littered everywhere, the water looking like a dirty swamp. The people acknowledged the Rig with a glance, but nothing else. He felt everyone in the Rig go cold, goosebumps erupting on his skin as well.

_What is this place…?_

Whatever it was, it gave him a horrible feeling of despair. That feeling didn’t leave him until he felt himself starting to fall asleep. Furiosa took over the driving, and Max closed his eyes slipping into a deep slumber.


	24. In The Dunes

_WHAT? STOP! NO!!! AHHHH!_

Max awoke with a jolt, immediately on edge and ready to attack. It was day time, he was in the Rig with Furiosa, the women, and the kid. The images of horror that plagued him dissipated slowly as he blinked. He felt his eyes tearing up slightly, sweat on his brow.

_I’m awake. In the Rig. With…Furiosa. We’re going…to…The Green Place. Right._

Furiosa had seen him jolt. She didn’t look scared, she looked concerned, her eyes filled with empathy.

_Hm. How long was I asleep? It was…night…_

“It’s okay. Sleep. Get some rest,” she gently told him.

Max readjusted in his seat, trying to calm down. Her words did actually manage to relax him slightly, but he said nothing else, nor did he fall asleep again as the minutes stretched on. He kept his thoughts to himself, reflecting on what had happened to him in the last two days.

_Why am I here with them? With her? What will I even find? But it’s useless to think about that. None of this was expected. Nothing is ever expected. I need to let go of those feelings, they’re of no use to me._

_I’ll leave as soon as I get the chance. I can’t…do this again. We need to separate eventually. When they get where they’re going, I know there won’t be anything for me there. I’ll need to keep moving._

_Angharad._

_The Citadel. Immortan Joe. These were his…wives? …I suppose worse has happened. But they ran away from clean water and green? It’s obvious they’re all sheltered, minus Furiosa. They’re too…clean and…beautiful… to have any idea on how to survive. But maybe that was the point._

_Furiosa. I…hm. How is she related to them? Why…is she running with them? Or letting them run with her? An Imperator. She didn’t get to that position without some scars. But I suppose we all have them._

_Furiosa…where are you from?_

_Furiosa…why are you running?_

_Furiosa…don’t trust me._

_Furiosa…don’t depend on me._

_Furiosa…I will leave._

_Furiosa._

“How do you know this place even exists?” Max asked aloud after several hours of guilt ridden thought.

She looked…sad. Lost. Alone.

“I was born there,” she answered.

Max looked at her, perplexed.

_So…_

“S’why’d you leave?”

_She obviously didn’t want to…_

“I didn’t,” she admitted. “I was taken as a child...stolen….” she finished. Max could see her replaying her own awful memories of the past - trauma and sadness written on her face. Mourning the person she most likely once was - killed and replaced with the person she was now. He knew those feelings. But…

_The person she is now…is…_

He stopped his line of thinking, wondering what else to say. “You done this before?” he asked.

“Many times. Now that I drive a War Rig, this is the best shot I’ll ever have,” she said quietly.

_How many times? Why did she fail before?_

“And them?” he pointed to the sleeping women in the back.

“They’re looking for hope.”

_Hope. Hm. Dangerous._

“And what about you?”

She was silent for a moment. Max waited patiently for her to answer.

“Redemption,” she admitted.

_…There’s no…no such thing. You…live with your choices…and they haunt you._


	25. The Power Line

The Rig continued across the dunes, and Max took the wheel after some time. It was a few hours before they came across a particularly high dune. Furiosa had indicated that this was a good place to survey the area. Max stopped the Rig and Furiosa stood up through the sun roof with binoculars. Max didn’t see anything but sand in front of them, that is until the short-haired one piped up.

“Hey…what’s that?”

Max immediately looked in the direction she was facing. He furrowed his eyebrows.

_A..power line..? Odd…_

“I remember something like that,” Furiosa said, reverie in her voice.

Max turned the Rig towards the strange object and continued forward until they were directly in front of it. It was indeed an Old World power line - disintegrating but unmistakable in its shape. Someone had hung shards of mirrors onto it, most likely trying to attract attention to it. Not only did they see that, but there was a woman on top of the structure. She was obviously naked and screaming for help. She cried out about whoever had put her there coming back soon. Max was immediately suspicious - a look of disapproval on his face.

_Nope. No way. We are not engaging with this._

“Uh-uh,” he said. Wagging his finger at the woman, he finished his thought,“That’s bait.”

“Stay in the Rig,” Furiosa replied calmly.

Max looked at her skeptically.

_Uh-uh. If we’re really doing this, I will not be held responsible for what comes next._

Furiosa jumped from the trailer and very calmly marched forward toward the woman. She started to call out to her.

“I am one of the Vuvalini!! Of the Many Mothers!”

_The what?_

“My initiate mother was Katie Concannon! I am the daughter of Mary Jobassa! My clan…was Swaddledog!”

Max suddenly felt a small surge of emotion hearing about Furiosa’s origins.

_She was stolen…from her home. A community of mothers. Hm. The Wasteland steals from everyone.._

The woman in the tower stopped screaming and looked to a distant point. She yelped - a truly primal sound resonating through the dunes.

Almost immediately after, one by one, six motorcycles appeared from beyond the dunes. They surged towards the Rig and Max was actually mesmerized. It was a sight - something close to magical. As close to magical as you could get in The Wasteland.

_Holy shit. It’s…true._

He felt hope for Furiosa. It was a foreign feeling at this point. He looked on from the Rig, wondering how she felt. The woman in the tower ran to her. Some of the other women looked on guard. At least several of them drew their guns.

_She’s not going to hurt you. She’s one of you._

Furiosa and the woman from the tower - a woman with long black hair - spoke for a moment before marching towards each other. Their foreheads pressed together, right hands on the back of each other’s heads.

_Hm._

It was an odd greeting, but obviously a very deep and meaningful one. Max felt like he was intruding on the moment, even from far away. Finding your lost family was…well, there were no words for it. Max found himself wishing he could have had this moment at one time.

_Never mind._

A moment later, Furiosa turned towards the Rig. It seemed like a good time for everyone to get out. The women climbed out as well as the kid, although he didn’t go forward. Max preferred to stay in the Rig. He knew he didn’t belong. He almost didn’t want to.

_Don’t engage. You will have to leave soon. There’s no point in making yourself known. And it’s not your moment, stay in the Rig._

The older women strangely examined the younger ones, although Max could understand why. The young ones were unreal looking in the Wastes. The group spoke briefly and he saw Furiosa smiling. It made him feel warm.

_She deserves it._

Suddenly, her smile faded and she looked into the distance towards Max. Something was very wrong. He quickly became concerned. The blonde one looked back as well before turning back to her and saying something. Furiosa shook her head. The moment was ruined.

_No…what’s…happening?_

He saw several of the women explaining something to her. Furiosa looked lost though, she was no longer listening. He knew that look. He had worn it in the past. Despair. Heartbreak. Loss.

_No…Furiosa.._

She stared out into the dunes, walking away from the group. She looked utterly destroyed. Max could only follow her with his eyes.

_She came all this way. And…it’s..it’s gone, isn’t it? No…_

As she staggered up the dune, exhaustion and anguish obviously taking over her body, Max saw her remove her prosthetic arm and toss it into the sand. She stumbled farther up the dune before dropping to her knees. Facing the sun, he heard her scream. He heard the pain and the sorrow echo through the desert, carried by the wind to his ears. His eyes were soft and glossy with understanding, his heart heavy. They had traveled so far. She had traveled so far, fought tooth and nail to get here. It had been a long time since he had been around people, and he had never met a woman like Furiosa before. He found himself angry at The Wasteland once more. How could it do this to her? 

_Furiosa. I’m sorry._


	26. The Plains of Silence

The day had ended, the group camping out for the night. The desert air was cold on everyone’s skin, the moonlight bright, turning the normally fiery orange desert into a deep blue. Furiosa still hadn’t recovered fully from the news, but she couldn’t dwell on it. She had already mourned the loss of her home and her family once. To have hope that maybe she wasn’t alone kept her going. Maybe she had a home. Maybe she had a family. But it was all for naught. Her home was a place that no longer existed. The Furiosa who was stolen no longer existed. And she couldn’t get her back.

She had told the Fool about her desire for redemption, she hoped home would provide it to her. There was no possibility for redemption now, she had to live with who she was, with the choices she had made. She knew it would haunt her for the rest of her life. But, although the Wastes had punished her, she had to remember what she had found.

_I did have a home. I am from a family. I am not alone any longer. The Citadel will soon be a distant and ugly memory. Maybe my…our home no longer exists, but the Vuvalini are with me now. The girls are here with me, the War Boy too. And…the Fool…he’s also here. The Fool. I’m glad he’s here._

Furiosa looked at the camp that the whole group had set up. She pushed her feelings back into her mind. Seeing the girls bond with the Vuvalini was worth the journey. If she couldn’t give them The Green Place, she was glad she could give them at least a few of the Many Mothers. She saw Capable sitting with the War Boy in the cab of the Rig. She saw no problems with it, the War Boys couldn’t be completely blamed. They were a product of Joe’s tyranny. She was honestly happy that he and Capable had found each other - they both deserved the warmth of another human’s kindness and affection.

She saw the Fool sitting next to the trailer of the Rig. As she approached him, she caught a glimpse that he was adding the area to a map of his own creation before he rolled it up and put it back in his jacket.

_Hm. I’d like to see what’s on it, how much of the Wasteland has he trekked through?_

“Can I talk to you?” she whispered to him. She walked to the very front of the Rig, hearing his footsteps behind her. She looked into the distance, trying to figure out the best way of bringing up what she wanted to say.

_I...am not expecting the answer that I’d like._

“I’ve talked with the others,” she paused.

_Come on, Furi. Get it out._

“We’re never gonna have a better chance to make it across the salt. If we leave the Rig here, and load the motorcycles up with as much as we can, we can maybe ride for a hundred and sixty days.”

Her stomach was already flipping a bit, her insides prickly as she prepared herself to explain the rest to him.

“One of those bikes is yours.”

_He’s going to say no. But maybe you can convince him again, just like before?_

“Fully loaded.” At that, he looked at her face. “You’re more than welcome to come with us…” she said, her voice lilting slightly as she looked at her feet and kicked at the sand. She was nervous.

_I...don’t want you to leave._

He seemed to look at her almost knowingly, a small indication in his eyes that he was thanking her for thinking of him. At least, she thought so.

“I’ll..I’ll make my own way,” he looked away and nodded slightly.

At that, she turned away, a bit dejected but nodding in understanding. She felt his eyes on her, but what did it matter?

_Yeah…I thought so…_

She huffed out a small laugh, knowing she was right in thinking he wouldn’t stay. She started to walk away when he spoke again.

“Y’know, hope is a mistake.”

_…What?_

She turned to him, waiting for him to continue.

“If you can’t fix what’s broken, you’ll uh…you’ll go insane.”

She suddenly felt sorry for him. She knew he wasn’t talking about her and a part of her wanted to know the source behind his cryptic words. But it was just as well, she’d never see him again after tomorrow.

_After all that…that’s what you have to say._

She left him standing there and went back to join the other women.


	27. Across The Salt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FRIENDS. THIS IS EPIC.  
> If you've been here since day one, please go back and read chapters 20, 21, and 22.   
> I've changed some things AND added a chapter!! I think you're really going to like it!   
> At least...I hope so.   
> So, if you're new, you're totally good and totally caught up.   
> If you're not new, and you just got a notification that I updated, go back and read those chapters, and then meet me back here.   
> ^__^   
> As always, your feedback is ABSOLUTELY appreciated, so feel free to leave me some comments!!   
> Enjoy!!
> 
> -YNMS
> 
> P.S. - ALSO. In this chapter, I fixed an error that was made in the movie. It actually wasn't supposed to be the way it is in the movie so I made sure to be true to the actual writing.   
> When Glory is beckoning Max to follow Furiosa, in the movie, she says "C'mon, Pa! Let's go!" when in fact the line was supposed to be "C'mon, Max! Let's go!" because obviously Max isn't her dad. There's still a question as to why it was left that way in the movie, but hey whatever. WE FIXED IT HERE!

She had asked to have a moment with him. He already knew what it was about. He seemed to have a track record of doing this. It was never intentional, but he ended up hurting people either way. Sometimes he wondered why he was born when he was. His humanity would return to him, wreaking havoc on his life. Why couldn’t he just be an animal? A scavenger who didn’t care? 

The return of his personality, of his humanity was a relic of the past. It had no use in this new world. So why did it cling onto him like a recurring disease? He would meet people in Wastes who seemed to be as human as he was, but the Wasteland had a way of weeding out those people. If he didn’t adapt to this new harsh world, he would end up like them. The guilt never got any better though. He should have saved them, he let all of them down. Everyone he met who was worth anything ended up dying because of him. No matter what he did, every decision seemed to have a negative consequence. 

Back when he was a man with morals, he tried to do the right thing, and ended up getting his family killed. When he decided to stop giving a shit, turning away from anyone who was worth a damn because he’d eventually let them down too, more people died. Max knew he was a self-fulfilling prophecy, a walking paradox. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to break the cycle. And for this, The Wasteland punished him with ghosts, nightmares, and madness. 

_I deserve it._

“One of those bikes is yours, fully loaded,” she said. He looked at her face, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “You’re more than welcome to come with us,” she finished, and Max could sense it was more of a request than she made it out to be. 

_There it is. No, Max, no. You’re not doing this again. It doesn’t matter what you want. The Wasteland doesn’t give a shit about what you want. Remember that._

Even then, his face softened for a split second when she looked at him after kicking the sand like a nervous child. He saw the flicker of hope in her eyes and was unable to keep looking at her. He wanted to honestly thank her for her kindness, loyalty, and companionship. But he couldn’t. He even thought about the young women with her. He hadn’t bothered to actually learn their names. It didn’t matter though. They wouldn’t meet again. 

“I’ll…I’ll make my own way,” he said, trying to sound indifferent. As she turned away from him, he could sense she was slightly disheartened at his answer. He continued looking at her. He felt awkward, sorry, and disappointed in himself. She was an anomaly of a woman, to say the least, and he couldn’t deny the feelings he had about their newly created bond of trust, as well as many other things about her. But he couldn’t be selfish - The Wasteland would punish him for it. 

_I can’t. I’m sorry. I wish I could tell you why, but it’s impossible. At least this way, you’ll make it. I have no doubt about that, but I can’t go with you._

He decided to warn her about one last thing. They were so similar, he couldn’t bear to think about her turning out the same as he did. She would make it, but she needed to know one thing. 

“Y’know, hope is a mistake. If you can’t fix what’s broken, you’ll uh…you’ll go insane.” 

He hoped that his words would convince her to be smart, rather than ambitious. The Wastes had no mercy for people who wanted more than survival. There was no fixing what was broken - it was all broken. She needed to know that. 

The next morning, the women all headed out, leaving Max and the Rig on the ridge they slept on. He said nothing to any of them, just helped them pack and watched them leave. As their forms became smaller and smaller against the plains of salt, Max heard the wind whispering to him. 

_“Where are you, Max?”_

He turned around, looking into the distance, instinctively reaching for his gun. He had almost forgotten about his ghosts. His time amongst the women had kept them away. He didn’t want to think about why. 

_“Where are you?”_

_“Ahh, help me..”_

_“You promised to help us.”_

Max turned back around to the salt, searching. Suddenly Glory appeared throwing her hand into his face, along with a disturbing image of a man in a black mask. Max immediately put his hand to his head, blocking the phantom. Glory reappeared, looking at him angrily. He removed his hand from his face and looked at it. 

_What the hell…uh…_

Max looked back up to the plains and saw Glory far off in the distance, about halfway between he and the motorcycles. 

_“C’mon, Max! Let’s go.”_

Glory called out to him from across the sands, a ghostly yet friendly beckoning. Max stopped to think for a second. 

_Glory. What are you trying to tell me?_

Suddenly, the day of her and her mother’s death came back to him. Just before they had died, Glory’s mother had asked Max to travel with them. He had declined, seemingly knowing what would happen, and left in the opposite direction. He remembered feeling off about leaving them alone so he quickly turned around. He could change, he could have another chance at redemption. But it was too late. Max’s memory of finding Glory and her mother’s bodies haunted his nightmares. It suddenly occurred to him that although Furiosa and the others weren’t Glory or her mother, he had just been presented with the same scenario and was making the same mistake. 

_This is what Glory is trying to tell me? I…are you sure? What’ll happen if I ride over there? This isn’t going to work, is it? I…don’t deserve that. I don’t…deserve…any companionship. Do I? Furiosa…_

As Max stared at Glory who was still standing there waiting for him, he made his decision. 

_…It doesn’t matter what I deserve. Furiosa deserves better than anything she’ll find that way. She deserves The Citadel. I’m going to help her get it. Broken doesn’t mean that it can’t be fixed. She isn’t broken, that’s for sure. I need to help her - and maybe…never mind._

Max was ready. He mounted the bike, finding one of Furiosa’s scarves on the handle. 

_Hm._

He actually felt like smiling. As he wrapped the scarf tightly around his neck, he found that it smelled of her. There were several moments where he had been in close contact with her, and he had smelled something almost sweet - vaguely like a long withered flower that used to grow somewhere he couldn’t remember. He wasn’t sure if it was from being with the girls for so long, but it was mixed with the smell of grease, dirt, and cool desert air. It was uniquely Furiosa, and it was all the motivation he needed. Max started the bike and took off down the dunes, riding as fast as he could towards Furiosa.


	28. Going Back

Furiosa tried to forget his face. There was no use in remembering it. She tried to forget everything about him. Their first encounter where he was nothing more than a muzzled dog, his refusal to give her his name, their bond of trust formed within the walls of the canyon, the feeling that he wouldn’t leave her. He was there to protect her, to have her back, and she had his as well. They were a well oiled machine, almost telepathic. When she needed his help, he was always one step ahead like he knew exactly what she needed from him. 

They were connected after that point - for self-preservation or not, they had a connection. They became one perfectly balanced gun - her aim perfect due to his support, a perfectly built team of two people who didn’t just survive, they protected those around them as well. They shared the pain of losing Angharad, and Furiosa got the feeling that he understood her desire for redemption. There was a lot to be said, but there was no point in saying it - all Furiosa could do was leave him with one of her scarves tied to the handle of his bike. She hoped it would help him for a long time to come, but he was gone. She had to look to the future, and her future was with the women around her. 

_Day one of one hundred and sixty.  
I’ll never know his name.._

She pushed forward, drowning out her thoughts with the sound of her bike when she suddenly heard another bike approaching the group at a high speed. 

_What the…_

The bike overtook them and stopped in front of Furiosa. It was the Fool she was desperately trying not to think of. 

_…Fool? What…why are you…? Did you forget something? Or?_

He very casually looked at the group, taking something out of his jacket pocket and approaching Furiosa’s bike. Furiosa noticed her scarf around his neck. 

_Why?_

He put down the map Furiosa saw the night before onto the bike. “Alright,” he started. “This is your way home.” 

_…You’re joking._

He was pointing at symbol that the majority of the group had burned onto their backs. It was blood red on his map, the skull angrily looking at them. 

“We go back?” Furiosa asks him, looking him in the eye. 

_Are you crazy?? Why? No!_

He replies with a pleasant and resounding “Mm,” like it was a completely doable idea. 

_You…are truly a Fool.._

“Back??” Toast asks aloud. 

“Yeah,” he says simply. 

“I thought you weren’t insane anymore!” Dag adds. 

_So did I. How the hell is this supposed to work? Why on earth would we go back?_

“What are they saying?” one of the Vuvalini pipes up. 

_No..no I can’t go back. None of us can go back. Do you not remember how hard we fought to get here?_

“He wants to go back from where they came,” is the response from another. 

“The Citadel,” Furiosa says slowly. 

_The thing that started this whole mess. The reason why all of us are the way we are…_

“What’s there to find at the Citadel?” another Vuvalini asks. 

_Please don’t answer…_

“Green,” the Fool says confidently, looking Furiosa in the eye.

_Don’t look at me like that…I can’t…why are we even talking about this?_

“And water,” Toast adds. His eyes bounced to her. 

_Please no...don’t make me do this. I…there has to be something else._

“There’s a ridiculous amount of clear water,” she continues. 

Furiosa shook her head, looking out into the plains. 

_We should not be encouraging this plan. Please._

“And a lot of crops,” Toast finishes. 

“It’s got everything you need, as long as you’re not afraid of heights,” the Dag adds. 

“Where does the water come from?” Keeper of the Seeds pipes up. 

_Toast, stop. Don’t answer. Please. I…we can’t. We’ll never make it._

“He pumps it up from deep in the Earth, calls it ‘Aqua Cola’ and claims it all for himself.” 

Fool had gone back to looking at Furiosa. 

_Fool…no. I am not okay with this plan._

“And because he owns it, he owns all of us,” Dag adds somberly. 

“I don’t like him already,” Keeper comments. 

“It’ll take two weeks to skirt the wall of mountains.” Valkyrie explains, obviously conflicted. 

_Exactly, it’s not possible. We should just keep riding. To hell with this ridiculous plan._

“No,” Fool responds. 

_Shit. No. No no no no…do not say what I think you’re about to…_

“I suggest we go back the same way we came.” 

_Please…no not the…_

He looked at Furiosa, “Through the canyon.” She closed her eyes, hoping the sand would swallow her whole so she wouldn’t have to listen any more. 

_….I can’t. I honestly can’t. I…cannot do that again. Please…_

“It’s open, we know that, right?” Toast asks. 

_Toast. Fuck. No._

“He brought all his war parties through.” 

_That means nothing._

“So we take the War Rig and we charge it right through the middle of them. We can decouple the tanker at the pass, shut it off behind us,” Fool explains using his hands to gesture the explosion. 

_Wait…’we?’ Really? …I.._

“Kaboom!” Keeper replies playfully. 

_Seriously? Now? Goddamit, you people…_

Fool gives Keeper an amused smile and fondly waves his finger in her direction. There’s a part of Furiosa who wants to laugh, but right now, the thought of this plan is making her want to run off on her own. She’d take a chance at the plains of salt rather than go back through that canyon. 

_He said ‘we.’ What..does that mean?_

She entertains his idea for a moment. “And how exactly do we take the Citadel? Assuming we’re still alive by then?” 

Fool is looking at her intently, like he’s winning this argument. 

_Why are you looking at me like that? You haven’t won. This is still a bad plan. Please let’s just call it off._

Toast starts talking again, “If we can block the pass, it’ll be easy. All that’s left are his War Pups, and War Boys too sick to fight.” 

_‘Easy.’ Ha._

Before Furiosa can think any further, Capable starts up. “And we’ll be with Nux.” Fool looks at Furiosa once more, gauging her reaction. 

_He’s…just one War Boy. How is he going to convince the entire Citadel to just let us take it??_

Capable continues, “He’s a War Boy. He’ll be bringing us home, bringing back what’s stolen as he’s meant to.” 

Furiosa looks at the Fool. 

_…This is crazy. I know you’re insane, but please…_

The entire group turns around to look at Nux. He nods, “Yeah...feels like hope,” he says. 

_But hope…hope is a mistake…isn’t it? Fool?_

“I like this plan, we can start again. Just like the old days!” Keeper says happily. 

_I...don’t know…I don’t think I can do this…_

Fool speaks up, “Look, it’ll be a hard day.” 

_I can’t do it._

“But I guarantee you that a hundred and sixty days ride that way,” Fool points ahead of them. “There’s nothing but salt,” he says shaking his head. 

_Where is all this coming from?_

Furiosa looked out onto the plains.

_You didn’t want to come with us…_

The Fool continues, “At least that way,” he points behind them. “You know, we might be able to…” he swallows. 

_…Do…what?_

“Together…” 

_Together?_

“Come across some kind of redemption.” 

_Fool…you’re throwing my words back at me? I…together? Really?_

She looks out at the plains and he holds his hand out for her to take. She looks at his face, eyebrows furrowed. 

_You…you won’t leave me, right? I’m scared._

Suddenly, the fabric around his neck caught her eye. It made something in her heart surge, and she instantly understood the feelings he was trying to convey to her. His expression was earnest, genuine. He meant what he was saying - he looked like he was promising her that he wasn’t about to let her down. He would be there with her for all of it and they would come out on the other side. He knew she was scared, but he wasn’t going anywhere without her. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Max held his hand out to her. He saw the worry on her face, the troubled look in her eyes. He wished he could tell her what he was feeling. 

_I’m sorry for what I said, and for how I treated you earlier. I know you’re scared. But, I’ve got your back and I know you have mine. We’re partners, and we’ll do this together - just like everything else we’ve done so far. I know trusting me was the hardest thing you’ve ever done, and you know I’m not one to trust either. But we’re a team. I promise, I will not leave you. We’ll have our redemption, and maybe when it’s all over…we can…see about the future. I’m not going anywhere without you._

He hoped that his expression and the gesture of his hand told her what she needed to know. She looked at him for a second longer, discomfort on her face until her eyes bounced to her scarf around his neck, and his stomach flipped once. Suddenly, she seemed to understand him loud and clear because she grabbed his hand and held it tight. He smiled. 

_I’ve got you, Furiosa. I promise._


End file.
